in my 18yr old mind

18. "you only live once"

Everyone heard that sentence a million times. But do the words really hit your brain in a good spot ? Because i don't see people live out of that principle. I see "shyness", i see "what if i embarrass myself", and also "they will think i'm too much". But all of this, all of this i swear, does not exist. It. does not. apply.
People don't care ! Like would you mind if a nice person approached you to ask for a favor or for help? Would you find it annoying if someone tried to cheer you about something great you just did, or if someone just wants to have a talk or ask for advice ? Why are we so detached from other humans ? They are the ones we never think are going to like us, the ones that are complete strangers.
(I'm writing this while i think about an Austrian guy i met in Bali while surfing. And maybe "meet" is not the right verb, as i decided to talk to him. And actually, i think i would've have wayy less fun if i didn't cared to talk to strangers. I would've been lost, on my own, like a fool. anyway lets get back to it)
There are some creeps, there are some Karens and some *ssholes, but most importantly, reeaally the most important thing is that most of humankind is made of kind humans. The human is a social being, and needs to interact, to talk to others.
I'm considered "extraverted" by most of the people i know, but i think it's mainly because i know how to talk to people my age, and that are from my "world" (= same city or same school, same culture or just same country). But i was actually so closed to others until recently. I think maybe it is part of teenage hood? And that's why we think adults are cringe and embarrassing when they talk to strangers ..? there's actually nothing bad with it, and surely you can get something really great out of it. You get to learn about people that are very different from yourself, you open your mind to things that are completely fresh, absolutely new and unknown to your little closed life.
And beyond that : what about freeing yourself ? What about letting your anxiety go, as we demonstrated it is not founded on anything real ? You have nothing to lose, on the contrary. And when you do, when you instantly do things without overthinking them, you will feel like life is so much easier than you thought, you will appreciate every moment spent with others, every moment you spent not bothering yourself uselessly. It feels so nice. It feels like life is about that.