Getting involved

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I'm starting my last year of high school in about a week, but I really want to be more socially-involved this year, since last year I felt very lonely and depressed most of the time (it's basically carried over into the summer vacation, too).

I want to find more ways of calling attention to myself visually. Recently I dropped about half my wardrobe - mostly earth tones and cargo pants that have become too big for me. As a replacement, I went for brighter colors, vintage-looking clothes, and plaid. Since previously I've made myself seem more of a nerd, I decided to throw in some ambiguity by wearing fingerless gloves, colorful checkered shoes, and a bright orange checkered backpack.
Also, people have been telling me recently that I have a decent physique and face, so I was wondering if I could try to draw more attention in that regard. I've been trying to show more confidence in my appearance than I have in the past.

I want to get involved with more people, too. Last year I tried some clubs (newspaper, anime), and I wanted to expand on that this year. I was considering joining the committee responsible for planning a lot of school events - I figure I should meet some good people there. What kinds of clubs have the people here joined? I could see if they have something similar at my school.

Also, I was considering sports, not just to become more physically active but to be around more people. I'm not well-coordinated for a team sport, but I have, for a few years, considered taking track (my only concern is that I'm not good enough to make an impression on people). I was also considering wrestling, but I'm not sure if I'm strong enough, and I've heard that the mats in the wrestling room aren't sanitary. On the plus side, a lot of cool people I know have done it, including a girl I'm interested in. Should I take a dive and try it?

I've also been getting more used to adding people from my classes on Facebook and whatnot - they don't seem to mind as much as I thought they would. I figure that could count for something - particularly with people I see every day, and especially if I can get a good start early in the year. I think I could try to learn people's names by writing them down early in the year and then just sporadically adding them on FB, and see where things go from there.

Finally, I've had the urge to throw a party, but I'm not sure how many people I should invite or whom in particular I should invite. I know that at least one of my friends from middle school would come, and maybe a few people I met last year. But I also wanted to do it as a way of meeting new people, but I'm not sure that it's a good idea - I don't know how long I have to wait knowing someone in order to invite them to such an event.

So yeah, any suggestions / comments?

Last edited by DejaQ on 24 Aug 2008, 4:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Those sound like great ideas!

For clubs, I would suggest going to ones that suit your interests. My special interest is history, or at least that's one of them, so I'm going to join a history club next year ^_^

Sounds like you're attempting to do too many things at the same time. If you can deal with the pressure, fine, but be careful. The constant effort to be "likeable" in all respects may drain you of emotional energies for day-to-day issues that may be far more important.

Yes, if ya got it, flaunt it. I used to be hot, and I'm realizing now what a difference it made.
I got away with so much, on looks alone. I should have taken more advantage of it. You don't want to seem too conscious of your looks, but to be completely unconscious is a waste of an asset.

Clubs and groups with a clear purpose are good for Aspies. If you really care about the
project or mission, you can forget all the stupid social rules and let your inner geek shine.
The person in charge makes the rules and everyone else has to cater to you for a change.
Life is just a game of "Calvinball." http://net.educause.edu/er/erm07/erm0731_fig.gif
The only rule is that you can't play it the same way twice.
“They aren't really rules, more like guidelines.”

Dangerous. It can work if you give the event a clear structure, like the club, but with a little extra room for social interaction.

Well people suggest that my physique isn't as bad as I think it is. I just have to trim my hair occasionally, because that stuff is all over the place . I did go out yesterday wearing an exposed a-shirt under an unbuttoned plaid, and it didn't actually feel so bad.



It wouldn't be that many people, probably. I know about half-a-dozen people I could invite now, and I wouldn't invite that many more, except people I meet who I feel I can trust. Just people hanging out, munching, maybe swimming.