Another camp story
So you know I practice martial arts and go to camps twice a year. In November of last year (2022) it was camp time again. The camp dinner was at a hotel nested between the university campus and the university hospital. At this dinner, I sat with students from a different martial arts school as well as instructors from all over the country.
One of these students is a young high school girl with a bit of ADHD. She's really talkative, which is helpful for me. How is it helpful? I hear you asking. Well, you see, I was bullied in 6th to 9th grade. My high school class was very small and comprised of two distinct social groups, niether of which I could integrate into. Needless to say, this has greatly impared my social ability.
Anyway... After that dinner, I got to walk - with this girl and one of her friends - back to a local mall in the area where the camp was hosted and most of the guest students were lodged for that camp. The three of us had really great conversation, and it felt good for me.
Flash forward to March '23 and the next camp is closing in. I find myself thinking about this moment from November quite regularly, and also thinking about telling her that I like to talk to her. Does this sound odd to you? How would you respond - verbally, mentally and emotionally - to such a statement?
For additional contxet about camp dinner events, see here
What Girls Said
well you can say you really enjoyedtalking to her and like to stay in touch. That would be normal and show if she was interested in you or not. If she says sure you can suggest to add her on social media like fb or insta, if she says no just say oh okay no problem. Thats it.
She actually has Facebook, but has friend requests disabled. But yeah, I'll see if I get the opportunity to talk to her some time during this camp over Easter.
The reason why I feel like it's a weird thing to say, is because of my social context with bullying and alienation through middle and high school, which have given me a hard time to socialize through latter years. This then is also why I even think about how easy she is to talk to her, which I like. Should I explain that to her as well?
Yes I get it but I wouldn't not explain that so early on, first see if she even wants to hang out with you bfore you generally ever open to anyone. Know noone is perfect and we all have bad things happen to us so noone is perfect. Accept you are the way you are and doing your best.