"I hate Christmas parties"

No, I don't actually hate Christmas parties, but one of the many themes in that song by Relient K is the idea of being uncomfortable at parties.

What's so uncomfortable? Unfamiliarity!

I can go to a party and be perfectly happy simply hanging out with my well established friends. But, at least in my mind, this defeats one of the primary purposes of a party: meeting people! Unfortunately, this also happens to be one of my greatest fears.

Will they like me? Will they want to talk to me? Will it get akward after a minute or two? Do they even want to be approached by me?

I'm not one who hides well, most people notice me fairly quickly in a group. For years I figured that I was an odd-man-out with this shyness and that anyone who was actually interested in talking to me, would. My conclusion from those years? Either no one wanted to talk with me, or there are a whole lot of other people like me out there who aren't comfortable with making that first walk across the room.

I have met many interesting people in my life and had many excellent conversations with them, but none of these are attached to parties. They are all situations where I've been, for lack of a better description, forced in to close quarters with someone and gotten to know them better out of necessity. But I'd hate to think that my only way of meeting people is by force.

So how do I take it to the next level? I honestly don't know. Heck, I've been reading Jen's blog for weeks in amongst my travels through our blog circle but yet I didn't even make an effort to walk over, officially introduce myself, and chat at Amy's party last night. We can read and comment on detailed and introspective journal entries from each other but yet I didn't even go bother to sit down and talk. How friendly is that?? So something has got to change because, if for absolutely no other reason, I am convinced that there are a whole lot of very interesting people out there who I have not talked to and who I am missing out talking with because of my shyness. It's time for a change.

Things for me to remember at a party:

• The only opinion which really matters is that of God (a slip of the tongue or a failed conversation is not a huge loss in the big scheme of things).
• I don't need to be the last one at the party, a mid-evening departure is not an etiquette-busting option if I've carried myself well for the time what I was there and exhausted all opportunities for socialization.
• I'm pretty good at reading people, I shouldn't fear approaching them as long as I am aware of their reactions and make appropriate decisions regarding whether I should continue a conversation or not.
• As awestruck as I am around women, I'm gonna have to grow up and talk to them someday, however knee-shakingly nervous I may be. 50% of the people I meet will be ladies, and I'm sure they've got some interesting stories to hear as well. I have to be careful about flirting and such, but I'd like to think I have enough self-control to actually keep up a conversation with a woman without slipping in to 'romantic Jonny' mode.
• I need to actually know what I'm talking about. If I don't and someone else does, I need to be humble enough to listen and learn. If I do, maybe that's my 'interesting' topic for the night. Either way, need to watch my pride.

So that's where I'm at. Any other suggestions are always welcome.