how
- open door
- step outside
- close door
i know this is kind of a joke post but idk how to make use of my hobbies. I paint but im not very good at it, same with music.
im going insane but how people find the courage to socialize is beyond me
Yeah as others said, painting classes in a community centre are a good idea.
But I don’t think it’s good to just do one thing and hope you have friends at the end - I think the trick is to do a bunch of different things and build a network of humans you know.
So in addition, I’d suggest:
Join a left org and get really involved - if you live in a smaller town get involved in orgs that support marginalized communities like the homeless, most of those people are left or radlibs
Get involved in municipal politics (a lot of left folks end up in campaigns for whoever the furthest left candidates/party are)
Join a book club at a library or left book store
Food kitchen
Community gardens?
Work out - the more social the better (running club, soccer team, pick up basketball, bouldering, whatever)
Join in on neighbourhood/community activities, read posters on lamp posts, community bulletin boards, often libraries and community centres have lists of things going on in communities
Board game meet-ups
Take a class at a college/university of there’s one around and you can afford it
Language exchange
Dating apps
Just in general say yes to a lot of stuff, even if it’s something you don’t care about that much.
Becoming detached from a community is really hard to undo and it can be scary, exhausting and make you feel really vulnerable. But putting in the work really pays off, and every new connection you build makes your entire social ecosystem stronger.
Go hiking
Random people will speak to you on the trail, and some will be the nicest strangers you’ll ever interact with
I don’t know how to interact with people at bars/clubs, but I don’t think that’s necessary tbh. At this point in my life I want to surround myself by other hikers to encourage me to hike even more, and I won’t meet that kind of person at a bar
Your local library might have free painting workshops or the like. If you live near a community college there’s probably something similar. (Extracurricular, even, to keep it free.) Visit a coffee shop to see if they have any interesting flyers posted. Etc. Some, maybe most, of those events will be duds, but then maybe you can dip out with someone who’s similarly disappointed and you can do your own thing with them.
Busking is a thing, though it’s a weird subculture where musicians are expected to respect each other’s territories.
so ez, u just try to go in & miss
Idk. I’m pretty sure I only ever wanted to go out as a form of masking anyway.