I’m 16 and I like a boy, but I have no social skills and don’t know what to do | Ask Annalisa Barbieri
Lots of adolescents like you missed out on key developmental stages during Covid. Taking risks is scary – but so is missing opportunitiesEvery week Annalisa Barbieri addresses a problem sent in by a readerI’m 16 and have never really had crushes. Along with that, I moved around a lot as a kid and never really had many friends until year 7. I’ve struggled a lot with maintaining friendships and I’ve always felt a bit awkward and isolated from my peers. I guess part of it was Covid; I never really developed social skills and have always relied on others to help me make friends.Recently, I met this really nice guy at a debate competition. He seemed genuinely interested in me and kept trying to talk to me. I liked talking to him; it felt really comfortable. For the first time, it felt as if I had met someone I “clicked” with. I actively sought out interactions with him and was praying he’d be on my team, which he was. I just thought I liked him as a friend at first, so I didn’t get any sort of contact information and assumed I’d forget about him. Continue reading...
Lots of adolescents like you missed out on key developmental stages during Covid. Taking risks is scary – but so is missing opportunities
Every week Annalisa Barbieri addresses a problem sent in by a reader
I’m 16 and have never really had crushes. Along with that, I moved around a lot as a kid and never really had many friends until year 7. I’ve struggled a lot with maintaining friendships and I’ve always felt a bit awkward and isolated from my peers. I guess part of it was Covid; I never really developed social skills and have always relied on others to help me make friends.
Recently, I met this really nice guy at a debate competition. He seemed genuinely interested in me and kept trying to talk to me. I liked talking to him; it felt really comfortable. For the first time, it felt as if I had met someone I “clicked” with. I actively sought out interactions with him and was praying he’d be on my team, which he was. I just thought I liked him as a friend at first, so I didn’t get any sort of contact information and assumed I’d forget about him. Continue reading...
