“I've been watching all my friends getting into relationships since middle school, and yet somehow it feels like no one's ever felt that way about me. I've been interested in many different people, over the years, but I'm afraid of trying to take the initiative because I'm worried I'll mess up the moment I try making a connection. I don't really know how to deal with this. Do I just go for it or should I take a more deliberate approach?”

Another soul answered...

Either way can work as long as you are doing something. I spent years thinking a relationship would find me by making myself into a good, kind, interesting person. That was a great thing to do but didn't work on its own. I felt like asking people on dates and dating apps were out of the question. What worked for me was enlisting trusted friends to help me through the process. When asking my now partner out on a date felt like too much, they encouraged me. They would set up more low key, friendly ways for us to get to know each other and helped me build up the courage to actually turn our friendship into a relationship. Asking her out was a great decision and if she said no or it didn't work out it still would have been a great decision. Now that I have the confidence that I am valuable in a relationship I feel like I could ask people out in the future without nearly as much fear of rejection. Some people are born feeling these interactions are easy, but for you and I it can feel incredibly hard. Know that having a hard time attracting someone isn't a reflection of how cool you are as a person or your value in a relationship. Media can try to persuade us otherwise, but it's totally okay to need more support in this area of your life. Practical tip: everyone loves pizza! You can ask your crush to go get pizza with you!