I've been dating an outgoing girl for the past five months (she's 27, I'm 24). I'm very happy with her, but there is a noticeable difference in our social attitudes. We live in a smallish college town, and she seems to know everybody. Not only that, she makes friends very quickly. As for me... long story short, it takes a lot of effort for me to become friends with anyone. She's my first girlfriend, by the way.

Now I sort of have a circle of friends by proxy. Some days I'm happy I finally have a life, but mostly the situation makes me feel worse. I'm practically invisible at social events. When I see one of her friends on the street and she's not around, they don't even acknowledge me. I should also mention that many of her guy friends are attractive, and they do a better job of making her laugh than I ever could.

I never was happy being an introvert, and I hoped that dating her meant I'd finally turned the social life situation around. But honestly, I'm still as awkward, self-conscious, and paranoid as ever. When we're out and I'm not having fun, I do a very bad job of faking it. Worst of all, I know it makes her unhappy to see me like this.

Does anyone have any similar experiences? I love this girl, and I don't want my own self-esteem issues to ruin things with her. But being around all her friends makes it harder to hide. Should I learn to stop worrying and love the invisibility?
user
Girlfriend is outgoing, I'm not (but I wish I was), and the difference in how we socialize makes
assistant
I've been dating an outgoing girl for the past five months (she's 27, I'm 24). I'm very happy with her, but there is a noticeable difference in our social attitudes. We live in a smallish college town, and she seems to know everybody. Not only that, she makes friends very quickly. As for me... long story short, it takes a lot of effort for me to become friends with anyone. She's my first girlfriend, by the way.

Now I sort of have a circle of friends by proxy. Some days I'm happy I finally have a life, but mostly the situation makes me feel worse. I'm practically invisible at social events. When I see one of her friends on the street and she's not around, they don't even acknowledge me. I should also mention that many of her guy friends are attractive, and they do a better job of making her laugh than I ever could.

I never was happy being an introvert, and I hoped that dating her meant I'd finally turned the social life situation around. But honestly, I'm still as awkward, self-conscious, and paranoid as ever. When we're out and I'm not having fun, I do a very bad job of faking it. Worst of all, I know it makes her unhappy to see me like this.

Does anyone have any similar experiences? I love this girl, and I don't want my own self-esteem issues to ruin things with her. But being around all her friends makes it harder to hide. Should I learn to stop worrying and love the invisibility?
user
My first girlfriend is an extrovert, and I'm a recovering introvert. How can I make myself more social,
assistant