WJMC Check-In

I'm definitely not a social butterfly--hehehe. I know what you're thinking, but Aaaaannnnnyyyyaaaaa, you talk all the time! Sure you never show up for D&D or any other time we invite you to do anything on the face of the planet, but you have plenty of friends... And whhhhyyyyy would you go to a conference for a week with a giant group of people you don't know if you don't really want to meet anyone?
Trust me, I know.
The problem is, even though I'm not the best at striking up a conversation, or meeting new people, or that elusive new thing called "small talk" that everyone seems to be doing now-a-days, I want to meet people; I want to form relationships with people and leave this week knowing I made some amazing friends.
So after I checked in for the conference, picked up my Press Pass and met with my Orange Group advisers, I did the first possible thing that came to mind--I loitered around waiting for someone to speak to me. None of my roommates are here yet, even as I'm writing this in the dorm, a mere two hours until final check in, so I was left stranded without even the most basic avenue for friend-making, (being stuck in the same room with each other for an entire week).

Turns out, however, casting longing glances at other strays around the HUB as I play Ski-Ball, or Super-Smash, or even Black Ops II--all games I am relatively pathetic at--doesn't have the same affect that I was hoping it would. This is especially true when the people you're staring at, beckoning to them with some psychic "talk to me" signal, are doing the same to others around the room.
Finally someone sat down alone at the racing game near the other end of the HUB, and I quickly slipped in to join them. The game lasted all of three minutes, and after some stumbling introductions, we parted ways. She had left toward the Dunkin Donuts, leaving a half-hearted invitation out there for me to follow, but I turned down the offer. Instead I directed her toward the store, than sat back down on the leather sofas in front of Call of Duty. My first attempt at friend making ended not with a bang, but a whimper.
All-in-all, with the first couple hours of conference down, I still have plenty more to go. I just have to be willing to open myself up to new people and new experiences. I have to smile a little, and see what happens.