NO LONGER A GROUPIE

I've noticed a change in myself recently - I no longer enjoy group settings as I once did. I actually feel uncomfortable and uneasy at events with more than four people. And there are a lot of event with more than four people! Especially in NYC.

I doubt people notice...I'm still pretty good at carrying on a conversation but I no longer feel good about it. As I posted previously, I'm finding myself more and more annoyed with "small talk." And in group settings I feel that is the majority of the conversation. By far I prefer one-on-one, more intimate conversation. I'm a little concerned that I feel uncomfortable in group settings now. It's one thing not to like them as much but it's another to feel uneasy in them. Again, I doubt people notice...but I do.

I've really become a bit of a loner over the past two years. The times I go out with friends are typically because THEY contact me. I'm bad at staying in touch and often find myself preferring low key activities to a night of bar hopping with friends. Most of my weekends involve seeing classic movies...by myself. And then going to the park to write. I'm not complaining, this is my choice. I worry a little about WHY I prefer movies and writing to social functions. But I don't have much of an answer to it. If you told me three years ago that my life would become what it has I would place the odds at 1000 to 1. And I would have bet the house on it. And I would have lost the house.

Okay, I got off-topic. The entire point of this post comes down to this: Has my preference for low-key activities affected my social skills? I've had 31 years of what I'd consider exemplary social skills. Could two years of increased solitude-time already diminish those skills?