Perna, I like that article.

NMoussa, welcome to PC. Just hang out for a while, and you'll start to feel like part of the community. I'm shy too. That article hit home with me on a number of notes - I wasn't born shy, for example, and I didn't have social support from my family, and didn't have the skills to deal with social situations, or any way to learn them.

I think that the thing that helped me the most in starting to learn those skills was participating in online communities like this one. It's less threatening. You can say what you need to say, and take as much time as you need, and you don't have to compete for floor time. We can all talk at once here, and it doesn't matter. Then when people start to recognize you and appreciate your contributions and ideas, and you realize that they care about you, your confidence increases and it's easier to put a little more of yourself out there next time. Eventually it gets easier IRL too.

Basically you have to take a chance and try to communicate, and keep trying. Building confidence can be scary and hard, but it's worth it and you can do it.

Rap