Meetup

It has been a year since I signed up for Meetup last July. Just want to share some of my thoughts and stories.
http://www.meetup.com/
The first half of 2013 I was suffering from depression. Being an introvert, I have a small social circle. From that small circle, friends were getting married, having babies, or moving overseas to work. It felt like everyone was moving forward with their lives and I was stuck on the same spot. More and more people were becoming unavailable to me. I felt I have not achieved anything, nothing to look forward to, no motivation for anything.

My only life outside of work and family was tennis and yoga. My little crush on a guy at tennis who never made eye contact with me was the highlight of my weeks.

I was so unmotivated to even go out. Eating or coffee out was difficult even though I live 10 minutes away from the shops by foot. Crossing the Pacific Highway was just too much bother.

My psychologist recommended me to go out and meet new people, like joining a bushwalking group, because I said I enjoy bushwalking but it was hard to find people to go with. My friend recommended me to sign up for Meetup.

I wasn't too keen on the idea at first. The idea of going bushwalking was exciting, but meeting stranger and talking about boring random things wasn't. What if nobody talks to me? What if nobody likes me? What if they are all weirdos? What if I can't even find the group of people to start with?

I took a first step out to a relatively easy walk, and I never looked back since then. Suddenly there were things to look forward to. I was excited to check out what new walks were planned. I visited places within or around Sydney that I never even heard of. It opened up my eyes to the beauty of the world. I made many interesting people with very different backgrounds that I would never have met. I felt like a complete different person during the walks and have became more confidence.

Everyone has different needs, but Meetup has definitely changed my life. This potato was uncouched.....




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