I'm nearly 45 years old and have been shy all my life. I still remember report cards from kindergarten where the comments were "Is extremely quiet. Does not volunteer easily" I feared those comments more than I feared a bad grade growing up!

I'm married now and have been married for 6 years now. I married a very outgoing person, which is odd, but at least it helps me come out of my shell a bit. I really don't have any friends other than my coworkers so never go out really. I volunteered at a wildlife sanctuary 7 years ago and was supposed to be there for at least 3 months. Although I enjoyed it, I felt out of place there because I didn't really know what to say to others and felt like an outcast. I ended up coming up with a bogus excuse as to why I couldn't finish out my 3 months and of course did that over email because I couldn't do it face to face.

For months now I have once again been so close to volunteering at another sanctuary but stop myself every time because I know that I will feel awkward and will immediately feel like I don't belong there even though I absolutely love animals. I also for months have been contemplating taking either a jewelry making or glass fusing class at the art center but feel like I will probably be so out of place there and screw it up so badly that they will wonder why I signed up, even though it IS for beginners! If I had someone to do these things with me, I would go ahead and do them, but I just feel so awkward doing them alone and I know my husband wouldn't do them with me.

Just so tired of doing nothing with my life due to the "what ifs"!