Hello. I feel like Im stuck in a rut at my moment in life. Long story short, my friends ditched me once I decided to become true to myself and to stop smoking weed, I decided I did not want to hide from who I am anymore and I really do believe I made the right decision in stepping away from friends who were never friends to begin with. Marijuana really negatively affected me, and since Im prone to depression, it caused me to enter a stage of depression that I had never experienced before. Anyways, the result is that I am no longer with friends. I'm completing my final year in highschool online as I was away living in Ireland, where I was born, for 6 months. (Luck of the Irish?!) I have a part time job, which I believed would help me meet new people but... it hasnt. The question is.. How do I meet likeminded people.. Do I just have to wait until I complete my highschool and start university to actually meet anyone?! I live in the backwater of nowhere.. Im not into online dating as I find it to be quite chancy and just completely awkward... and I also have very little self confidence in myself and my looks, so the thought of meeting a complete stranger is very off putting. Thanks for taking your time to respond to my problems! :icon_eek:
Don't worry. I'm sure you're going to meet plenty of people in college! Friends in high school don't usually last anyways, so I'm glad to hear that you're being true to yourself and being good to your body. You should always put that first before anyone else who just tries to bring you down or influence you negatively. I mean, you wouldn't have stayed friends with them for that much longer anyways, so why compromise your own well-being for something that's not going to last and for people who aren't looking out for your best interest? I don't like meeting new people either, and I have a really hard time doing it. I'm naturally shy and have social anxiety. Even I didn't have problems meeting people my freshman year of college. I made friends within the first few days. I lived in the dorms, and everyone found their group within their own floor of the dorm building. Living in such close quarters and being surrounded by people who are all frantically searching for friends as well, you'll definitely meet people. Granted, I didn't hang on to those friends due to my own insecurities, so I've been alone for my sophomore year and now junior year. But don't be like me, and I'm sure you'll be fine!
I'm glad you stayed true to yourself. ^_^ I think you're going to meet friends & have a relationship in the future. Sometimes friendships appear in thin air, sometimes you have to make the conversation. I don't have a lot of self confidence either but if you are confident about yourself on at least one thing, I think you'll find the courage to make friends.
you will be alright. keep a smile on your face and that will be your opener. good luck be yourself and you will find people like you.
Don't worry you will definately meet people as you go on. Most people at least for me and it may be different for others but i've found they don't judge you as much as you think they will. You have to start to like yourself somehow and you will find yourself much more confident. Congrats on quitting smoking weed i also know firsthand it's very difficult to stop making unhealthy choices for yourself especially when you are surrounded by others who are. In that way maybe some alone time might not be such a bad thing right now, and you can really decide who and what you want to be.
Congratulations on making the tough decision to stop doing things that were bad for you, AND for the even tougher decision to move away from friends that aren't healthy. That's not easy to do, particularly at your age. It's not easy when you're in a backwater town, but you can find like-minded people almost anywhere. You might check out meetup.com, which is a network for social activities. They have groups of all different types all over the world. Perhaps you can find a group with people who share similar interests to yours, or something you've always wanted to try. Other than that, you might check out and see if there's a local recreation center or other group that sponsors sports, hiking, board game, or other clubs... or anything else that might be of interest to you. It's always a challenge to let go of an unhealthy group of friends, but you'll thank yourself down the road for getting started on the right track.
Thanks for the feedback everyone. It really does help and I appreciate that some people will be willing to take time from there day to day activities to help me further understand and cope with my ever unfolding problems! I guess its just reassuring to see that Im not the one with the problem, and that others can see how tough it has been by what I've just written. I really do believe that the understanding of others will help me come to terms. My "friends" have been such assholes to me, it just came as quite a shocker. I occasionally need a considerate thought of another to help me persevere!! I will check that out Chip, thanks for your advice.
