User blog comment:Holly Bailey/Being Shy is Hard/@comment-4849011-20170220022041

I'm shy and sometimes have trouble conversing too, but luckily I've found some good friends. I agree that "Start talking to that person over there," and the like is bad advice. If the person wants to be left alone, you just come across as rude and disrespectful. One time I was on a bench at a store. I was listening to music on headphones and either reading or looking over some drawings, so I was clearly preoccupied. However, some girl kept trying to talk to me. I tried to be polite and give brief answers, but this girl just kept on interrupting me (She'd let me start reading again for several seconds, and then she'd decide to interrupt me again), so I left. That brings up something important, which is consideration for others. If you show that you're considerate and your heart is in the right place, that you're not some jerk, then people will generally be friendly to you even if you don't have much interaction. A lot of people in town have a good view of my family because we're nice to others.