Being shy is a curse

I should know. I've struggled with being shy since I was an infant. I was so shy in elementary school that I wouldn't speak to any of the teachers (or women in general, for that matter. I wasn't as shy around men.). They sent me to a resource teacher to find out if I knew how to read, write and do arithmetic. I wouldn't talk to her either. Acting on my mother's suggestion, they brought in a volunteer from the community to work with me -- an older lady who reminded me of my grandmother. Around her I wasn't shy at all. In fact, I talked her ear off so much that she couldn't believe that I was so timid around others.

In Grade 9 I made a conscience decision that I was not going to be shy anymore (or, at least that I was going to pretend not to be shy). I knew that I couldn't live my life that way or I'd never succeed. It was a good decision that has served me well. At times I've even convinced myself that I'm not that shy anymore. But the truth is that I struggle with it every single day. I work in communications and have to lead a lot of meetings, make cold calls, interview people etc... Doing these things goes against every grain in my body, but over time they've gotten a lot easier.

I put off returning things to a store because I feel too shy to explain why. At mix and mingle events I just want to crawl into the walls. The list goes on and on.

Baby boy is also shy. Not as shy as me, but enough that it causes issues. He often tells us he's "a little nervous" about going to nursery school. "It's too danger!" he says. When we really talk to him about it he admits that he's shy around the teachers. But it's not just at nursery school, but in all new environments and in virtually all of his interactions, including people he knows really well!. It takes him a good fifteen plus minutes to come out of his shell. Once he feels comfortable he's very outgoing and interactive, which I think is a good sign.

I really hope that he grows out of his shyness, if that's actually possible. If not I just hope he doesn't let it get the best of him.