Strangers
I had the incredible opportunity of meeting some new people recently. Let me preface this by saying that I am not usually the first one to reach out to new people. No, I definitely do not consider myself an introvert, but I kind of have my group of friends that I stick to and I am perfectly content with that. That being said, I was added to a group chat with a number of my friends and a number of kids involved in the Easton theatre program. I was skeptical at first because I really had no idea who these people were, but I decided to play along, and I am so glad that I did.
After being added to the group chat, I was greeted with a ridiculous number of texts about a ridiculous number of completely unrelated topics (you have probably experienced this yourself if you are in a group chat with a large number of people). I will admit that I had to put the group chat on "do not disturb" in order to stop the constant ringing of my phone. As I started to get to know these strangers, though, I realized that we all had so much in common. Many people, myself included, are skeptical of strangers, and that can make it difficult to reach out to others and form new friendships. I first met these strangers over text about a week ago. Since then, I had hung out with them twice over the weekend. These strangers have all become my friends; friends that I never would have met if a person had not decided to reach out.
It is not usual for people to be able to form close relationships with people who were strangers a week ago. Most people have a difficult time talking to new people in the first place. The reason that my friends and I got along with these people so well is because we had something in common, theatre. Immediately we were able to bond over this and form such great friendships.
People cannot often find this commonality so easily, but there is often something there in everyone. We all want to be our better selves, we all want to be successful, and we all want our lives to be enjoyable. Why, then, do we all find it so difficult to reach out to others? If I had not decided to get to know these strangers, I would have missed out on so many great friendships. Maybe reaching out to others, those we know and those we do not know, is really the best option after all.
Do any of you find it difficult to meet new people and form relationships with them?
If so, how do you cope with that?
Does anyone else have a similar story to mine?
I am definitely not a "just met you" kind of friend, and I generally like to ease into meeting new people. When someone reaches out to me and I don't expect it, I usually get defensive because I can't figure out why they are trying to talk to me. I'm the sort of person who like to know how other people work, and if I haven't had time to feel you out I am especially skeptical. Over time, I've tried to be more open to being more personable. It definitely helps to have existing friends with me, because it gives you a sort of social base to hang on to with the new people.
ReplyDeleteI think we find it difficult to reach out to others because we doubt ourselves and our capabilities, and the fact that talking to strangers means starting out with little to no knowledge of the other and their opinion of us. It's the unknown, and a lot of people prefer to stay in their comfort zone rather than to break the ice with someone who might already not like you just on appearance alone. I myself find it difficult to talk to people on my account, and forget about forming meaningful relationships. I don't really cope with it, since I've long since accepted that I'm very much a loner and an introvert at heart.
ReplyDeleteMeeting new people can be a difficult task especially when it comes to finding something that you both have an interest in. All friendships orginate from that one common interest that someone has.
ReplyDeleteI definitely do find it difficult to form new relationships with people, but I don't find it hard to meet people. Does that make sense? I like saying hi to everyone and including as many people as I can, and that can form instant acquaintanceship. However, forming relationships is harder because you have to find common ground, things to talk about, and times to hang out. I cope with that by going out of my comfort zone and trying hard to make relationships, especially with new friends. And, my story is very similar to yours considering we're in the same group chat! Can't wait for The Pajama Game!
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