How does that work?

I possess endless curiosity, always have. I think that’s part of why I’m a voracious reader. Some people are conversationalists and satisfy their curiosity in that manner. There are those of us who are very shy and that presents a challenge.

I’ve learned over the years to “play nice” with others. Thanks to my mother’s efforts, I have good manners and know how to conduct myself according to situations. But, due to inherent shyness, it can be very uncomfortable and awkward for me to converse with people I’ve just met, however interesting they may be.

Engaging in small talk has always been difficult for me. My curiosity often spurs me to want to converse with people but I never seem able to connect. So, how does that work? There are people I find interesting but when I try to initiate further conversation they don’t appear to be interested.

My sense of humor is as rampant as my curiosity. There are times when I’m just plain goofy. It’s just the way I am. But I feel it may detract from people wanting to engage with me. Sometimes when folks find out I taught high school English, they seem startled. It makes me wonder at what kind of vibe I may be giving off but I’m not going to change the essence of my being in order to change another’s perception of me.

So when that voice in your head says, “wow, that’s interesting. How could I speak with that person again?,” how might I make that happen? Many of my previous efforts have failed, thus causing me to be reluctant to try again. Anyone else experience this?

“All that is, was, and will be/Universe much too big to see/Time and space never ending/Disturbing thoughts, questions pending/Limitations of human understanding”. “Through the Never”. Metallica