So I’m new to reddit and when I joined this group my expectation was it was going to be how to really step your game up. Im a small business owner working in health care, I have historically moved every few years so I needed to learn how to get involved in community quickly and I’m in the process of starting up a farmers market on my road because I suspect we have about 500 people within a few km all owning little acreages and I would love to get our community as self sustaining as possible. As an introvert these things are manageable but at times a lot and I was sorta thinking it would be more a discussion about how to really blow everyone away at the potluck without having to engage too heavily or something.
What I have learned is that so many people are going through struggles I have been completely oblivious to. I think I’m making a joke and some people might be taking it quite literally and assume Im an idiot or worse. That just because someone is being quiet does not mean they’re being standoffish and just because someone isn’t actively engaging in conversation doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy having someone approach them.
I have learned how to be a social butterfly when I need to because it’s a skill I required for my life and I just assumed if other people wanted to engage they would also just figure out how to move past the discomfort and get out there. But I am engaging with all sorts of people with all sorts of experiences or neurodivergent issues that I have known nothing about. Im a little pink in the cheeks today but I can move forward and do better.
Thanks everyone for sharing your stories!