Lauren Palmer: A Positive Influence On Life

When I was little, I was very shy around new people. I usually only showed who I actually was around my family. I didn’t have a friend who I could be myself around, they were usually just friends who I would play with at recess. That was until everything changed, and I moved across the town of Derby.

As for socially, I am considered by many to be shy but this is not really the case at all. Rather, I prefer to keep my mouth shut unless I have something I feel needs to be said. One of my pet peeves is people who just say things to either get a rise from others, or if they just talk because they are bored. I choose my friends carefully, and I have a small number of good, close friends, instead of a large number of people I barely know. I have never been one to follow the crowd, not by choice, but after years of feeling like I didn’t quite fit in with many other people, I just gave up. Anyone who couldn’t accept me for the way I am raises no concerns of mine. I do not need people like that in my life.

Growing up I was known to be a very shy child. I was too scared to talk to anyone and I was very reserved. I always have cared about what people thought about me. I didn’t want to wear “boy” clothes because I worried kids would make fun of me. I didn’t even make close friends until fifth grade. When I did finally feel comfortable at school and found amazing friends, I decided to switch schools shortly after for a chance at new opportunities. It lead me to standing alone in a crowded high school while I waited for that first bell to ring, so I could head to my first period class.

I'm not sure why I'm shy, I actually adore talking to people but I'm not sure what's stopping me. About a year ago I didn't have many friends I actually lost some friends from the results of people changing and also because they become someone else they aren't...either way I wasn't the same person as I was when I was little (since that was what my mother told me). The only person I tell everything is my mom and she always comes up with the same saying "you've changed, you're not the same happy girl I used to see everyday coming home from school". I wasn't sure if that was a good thing because change is good right? Either way I had trouble communicating with people. In eight grade was when it struck me the most. It was the beginning of the year and it was my first year in advanced language arts which is a problem because the other students were already in advanced language arts making them already know each other and making me the newbie. For the first four months it was horrible no one to talk to and occasionally having a small conversation with someone, but after another month it hit me that I don't have many friends and what's going to happen when I go to high school? Who am I going to talk to? This though hit me every night not having anyone to talk to and sitting alone in class, and working alone every single day is the most horrible thing that could happen to

Like I said before, I was the shyest kid ever growing up, I would go out of my way just to avoid talking to people I was unfamiliar with. Many people from school rarely heard me speak, I was easy to forget about. I kept to myself and did my work. Even outside of school I stayed to myself, only ever hanging out with a few friends. Even when high school started I was quiet. I began hanging out with more people, but there were still a lot of

Throughout elementary school, my parents encouraged me to do well in school, so I spent most of my time learning, studying, and doing homework. During my lunch time, I would sit at the end of the table, isolating myself from others by burying my face in a book. This is when I began to have trouble talking to others because of the little interaction I had on a regular basis. When I moved on to sixth grade, I met new people and started to break out of my “shell.” During this time, I had

For most of my life I was incredibly shy, introverted and had minimal self-confidence. I didn’t have many friends at school and I didn’t feel I fit in with my peers.

I have been shy for as long as I can remember. Making friends has always been really hard for me because I am so shy it makes me not want to talk to anybody. In elementary school it was not that hard because nobody really cared about anything. It started to get progressively worse as I got older especially in middle school years. When I got to lunch on my first day of fifth grade I was so worried I would not have anyone to sit by. Luckily I found one of my friends that I used to go to daycare with after school and I sat by her. There were a few other girls sitting by her that were in her homeroom at the time. Throughout that year I started becoming

Social phobias, anxieties and negative self-talk are a constant struggle since my early childhood and adult life. The nervousness, fear of rejection, insecurities and self-consciousness makes it difficult to connect with people and to form close relationships. It often feels I am the one of few people who experiences these socially anxious symptoms. Adding to the dilemma, the awkwardness to speak in public is overwhelming, to creating imaginary scenarios in my head, and the uneasiness to order food at a restaurant. The fear to schedule a phone call for an appointment, to rehearse and practice conversations in my head is a daunting daily affair. The process inevitably resorts to negative self-talk when asked to engage and contribute in social

I avoid talking at school because I don’t want people to think I am annoying. I have been told that my voice is annoying and I don’t want to irritate people so I just keep quiet for the most part. I want to be “that girl” who is outgoing, confident and people want to talk to her… but instead I have a handful of friends and stay quiet. People avoid talking to me and no one reaches out to me since I unknowingly give off an ‘avoid me’ vibe because I am so scared of being outgoing and consequently irritating people. Internally, I am very social, caring and have a sense of humor, but I am too scared to be myself so I have decided it’s better to just be overlooked.

Like the creek, I seek out none and very few approach me. I am not the person to go and start a conversation with a new person, even if I have no one else I know there. I would much rather sit quietly to myself than begin a conversation with someone new. Similarly, when people see me sitting quietly and keeping to myself they don’t often choose me as the new person with whom they will start a conversation. When someone does come up to talk to me, I have a mix of emotions. I feel special that someone wants to talk to me, and then I feel fear of having to respond. I am not good at showing emotions so it is easy for me to come off in the wrong way to new people. Interactions with new people are very difficult because I don’t know what to say. I am a very sarcastic person and very good at comebacks when I’m just messing around with my friends. This doesn’t help me when interacting with new people. Instead, I choose to be quiet, which pleases me and then when I feel comfortable around people I come out of my shell and getting mixed reactions. Most people are surprised

I’m an introverted person, and I tend to mind my own business and go on with my day. Throughout the day I felt that I was pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I usually focus on myself and what I need to do first, rather than to help someone else. I wouldn’t say that I think about myself in a selfish manner, but I do the tasks that I have to do rather than helping those around me. Before I did any acts of kindness I would try to plan out what I would say to others. I would mentally prepare myself of what were the possible responses of other people. When I greeted other people most of them greeted too or smiled back. Time passed slower when I waited person was going to response if at all. The times where I was ignored I felt embarrassed afterwards, but it slowly died down. The people who were around didn’t pay attention to what I was saying to other people unless I directly spoke to them. My classmates noticed the change in my behavior, they told me I looked happier and chipper than usual when I greeted them at the beginning of class. This is different then what any other person would tell me. I remember in the beginning of the semester a person came to up to and said I looked sad; this was odd to me because I was actually having a pretty good day. When I gave compliments on someone’s appearance they smiled more afterwards. To me it interesting that a small boost of

Coming out of my shell was one of my biggest accomplishments in my life. Growing up I was always the shy girl. I was scared of interacting with others because I would felt like I was going to say the wrong thing or just blank out completely. I wouldn’t really participate or be involved in anything until my sophomore year in high school. I felt the need to make adjustments to myself so that I could be more confident. At first I started of slow I had to put myself in uncomfortable situations where I was forced to talk to people.

When I was a young child, I had been very socially anxious, feeling as if there was a rock in my throat whenever I was to speak to anyone, feeling tears just stream down my face as I stood in a daze. This had been such a problem for me, as I really desired to have friends. Hoping to be able to communicate with adults and that I would be this normal person. I remember entering middle school and only slightly improving socially. I was determined to overcome this antisocial box I was in. All throughout my three years of middle school, I had opened up and tried to step out of my comfort zone. Eventually, I got so comfortable that I became a much more outgoing and well spoken, even going out of my way to be friends with people. I have appreciated

Growing up, I had always been shy and awkward. In school, I would rather spend my time daydreaming than talking to classmates. When I was forced to socialize, whether it be by teachers or my parents, it was usually met with stammering, sweat and downturned eyes. As a result, I had trouble