Being labeled as "shy"

[Rise Against]

I moved to a new school this year. At first it seemed like i attracted people and lots of people approached me and wanted to meet me. But for the first half of the year i was really depressed and extremely shy (i would go all day with out talking to anyone). The past few months i have been working very hard to be more outgoing and have improved a lot, but it seems like now that i am labeled as "shy" people think i am boring/mean. Now it seems like i repel people. When i talk to them they either walk away or kill the conversation by looking away and replying with one word answers. Im not saying that everyone ignores me but a few do... Oh well, only 30 school days left and then i go to college and i can start over, without a label.

 

[Joolin]

I understand what you're going through - I have been like that for awhile now. In my case, a lot of my shyness is from not wanting to ask dumb, cliche questions and make small talk. The fact of the matter is, most people have at least some shyness and social anxiety, so they use those kinds of questions to break the ice, as it is hard for anyone to start a meaningful conversation with a stranger or minor acquaintance from nothing. What you have to do is pay close attention to the questions people ask you and eachother to start conversations - things like "how are you liking History class this quarter?" or something else pertinent to current events. Once the conversation starts, you can steer it in any direction you want, but you just have to start it off general and open-ended. If you're like me and hate empty, vacuous small talk, just remember that small talk is only when the person keeps the conversation boring and mundane. Great conversations often start out generic and vague.