I’m 27 and I have always struggled with friends and in social settings. I am not mean, but I am quiet and I think I can be awkward when I feel shy, I often overthink what I’m going to say. My parents never had any friends so I missed out on learning what friendships are like from them, and so being alone has always been my norm. I would like to change this but I don’t really know where to begin. I have pretty poor self esteem so I would like to start small. How can I avoid coming across as annoying? I’m trying to correct my tendency to talk about myself when I try to relate to what others are saying. How do you start connecting with other people?