Being labelled as shy etc.

Wow I so hear you. It is like you wrote my story however I have 5 children and only one of them seems to have taken after me with ways that others view as shy. I like yourself am not a shy person at all. I do not believe in calling attention to myself for no good reason because I am not an attention seeker which I find to be the case in many. It was written by many in my senior year book that they viewed me as shy. I found this upsetting because I did speak with these people, interacted and became friends with some of them even and yet still they listed me as being a shy person. All I could think of was didn't you know me at all? Well, it has been years sense high school but I still do find myself invisible at times. I fact if you look at my listings you will see one topic on feeling invisible. Although this feeling is not in the way that many others view you it is just a sense of thought. Especially when you have met people and for one reason or another they do not remember meeting you. I feel as if I am a forgetable person for the reason that I don't feel the need to draw attention to myself or spill my gutts to those I do not know. I am always polite, at great listener and strong on my opinions so I do let them be known. But you wont find me dancing on a table, creating a scene, or pushing myself toward the center so that I stand out and if this is what lables me a shy person so be it! I get enough attention from those who love me. I do not have a need to be the center in everyone elses world. So as far a shaking the perception I think you need to realize as I have that it is better to be who you are than worry about standing out and not being shy or forgettable as it happens at times. Best wishes from one shy girl to another.

I am an only child and had several problems as a young child. I had a narrow eurethra and so peed my pants (This was finally found out and fixed at the age of thirteen!) I started wearing glasses(very thick lenses I may add) at the age of eight. I was tongue tied at birth but it was not detected so I had to be pulled out of class for speech therapy until around grade four when I fell off the monkey bars at school and had to have my tongue sewn back on. The specialist noticed I was tongue tied and fixed it at the same time. So being an only child and never attending a day care, just thrown into Kindergarten... Then on top of that the narrow eurethra, tongue tied and thick glasses...I didn't stand a chance. The few friends I did have were usually younger than me or had special needs because I related to them. Alot of the friends I had throughout grade school would continuously move away and I would have to find another one or be alone! I had one good friend all through high school and into college but she wants nothing to do with me now over a huge misunderstanding which I have been forbidden by her to explain so we will never see each other again after several years of friendship. I still find sometimes that I feel I say stupid things at times and have no friends...Possibly this is not true but my mind is conditioned to thinking this way after all these years. College brought me alot of friends but where are they all now? My grade school teachers would always say that I was a good student but I needed to put my hand up more often to answere questions...I was very quiet at school. My Dad would respond to that with, "You can't keep her quiet at home, she talks all the time" I can totally relate to you Someone's Mom... It still plagues me and I hate being alone so how ironic is this?! Thank you for sharing your story and starting this discussion so that the rest of us could share as well and maybe make friends because of it! :+)

I ahve always been known as shy until I get comfortable with my surroundings. You have to start speaking up and making a presence around people and not be so nervous. I know it all seems overwhelming at times but force yourself to be out going a few times then it all becomes natural.

I have always been called shy by other people. I do get nervous when meeting people, but once I get to become comfortable around them I am fine and open up. I HATE when people I just meet tell me how shy I am, as if they know me at all. I do have some social anxieties and that just makes it ten times worse. I hope to one day shake that label and show people when I meet them that I am not really a shy person.