:)

Well I think a lot of people would appreciate it if you approached them. 🙂

I know the feeling that you're talking about, to stand outside and looking in... But when there's a party you weren't invited to, sometimes you gotta invite yourself, ya know? But yeah, I know it's hard. Hopefully you can work on it to make approaching people a little easier. =)

I think everyone goes through that from time to time in their lives, even those who it is easier for. We live and we learn. It's funny about the "don't say something stupid", because I think we all think it and then once we get to know people, we go right back to saying stupid shit all the time while being silly. lol You're not alone in feeling that way. Having met a large number of the people you see posting a lot, don't let your mind get the better of you. They really are some of the easiest people to talk to in the world.

The sting of rejection or perceived rejection is a hard thing to forget. As the successes pile up I would like to think the fear would dwindle. Of course it is hard as well if your tangue gets all tongled when meeting someone new 🙂
Of course once the ice is broken all your worries are put to rest and the true you can emerge.

You're not alone in that feeling, trust me. I still go thru it sometimes, even with the good friends I have. It's like you said, a personal insecurity.

The best way of dealing with it is to KNOW that it's happening and just taking a step back from everything and rationalizing it all, remembering that if people truly looked at you that way, would they have done this or that for you or said this or that to you. I find that usually helps me.