I don't know if that advice is apropreate enough.

For example, from my experience, when you show too much interest and are too direct in "you are pretty" things, a girl wouldn't be interested in you enough. And then you stop.

And then she freaking desires you.

Happened to me like three times. First you show some affection - girl doesn't give a shit. But when you stop, miracles happen - she shows the affection to you!

I don't get it, but it works.

Nah its ok.

I have confidence issues from bullying.
(constant bullying most of my childhood, messed my head up pretty bad)

I just struggle to trust people, I fear embarassment.

Doesn't help I was teased by a girl I used to like at school.
(I didn't know whether she genuinely liked me, or was trying to put me into a situation where I would embarass myself. She probably thought nothing of it, which makes it worse really)

Its something I've been coming to terms with over time.
I'm getting more confident on my own, but I still only show more of myself in "safe" environments like a classroom or something.

(being an INFP person is tough. People assume I'm confident and outgoing, but I'm actually very introvert and emotionally delicate)

So its kind of tough. But I'm inching closer.
I did almost ask a gal out at uni, which is progress.

(the words were literally on the tip of my tongue, but I was worried about the fact she was a Swedish transfer student, so she would have to go back home in a few weeks, and I was worried whether or not she was genuinely interested in me, or just fascinated by the different life I've lived (we used to talk over lunch. She seemed pretty comfortable at letting me jabber on about anything. Lovely sweet curious girl. Miss her loads. Beautiful smile and warm eyes) so I talked myself out of it basically)

That happened to me too but kind different. She already had turned me down like 2 times, but when I stopped giving attention then she showed interest.

Actually, I generally created this thread to have a place to discuss sex, sexuality and potentially relations freely. This community ALWAYS gets off-topic, and I hoped it would go in a slightly different direction - and if someone created a topic about relationships, talking about sex, which is an inevitable part of that, would be tabooed. This way people can feel free to talk about sexual aspects of their life as well, without fear of sounding controversial or 'weird,' not to mention discussing one taboo also lifts other boundaries. So if you wish to talk about relationships, you are quite welcome, it would be a twist I'm waiting for for about five pages. Also, no one is forcing you to discuss sex itself.

Trust me, I can relate. I went trough a lot of that in times of my elementary school as well - we used to move around a lot, so I was alwas the 'new guy' in school, and I was ALWAYS considered an outsider and 'weird.' Thus, I was getting picked at a LOT. I've got pretty serious trust issues too. The part with that girl mocking you I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy thou, and it has thankfully never happened to me. And ... Well, that you're slowly building up your confidence is a great thing :-) I for one have met my first girl trough discussion board :D

Try being the "fat guy" for a while.

Might as well paint myself a target, or carry a "mock me" sign everywhere because thats what people did.

Butt of a lot of people's crappy jokes, gym class nightmares (changing room "fun", and sucking at sports. Needless to say I was never popular), and people tend to look down on me.

Being a huge game nerd made that worse, since in the 90's the taboo about games was still pretty strong, so people thought I was wierd on top of being fat.

(Shame the taboo hasn't exactly dissipated yet. Can't believe how so many people at my uni can't even comprehend basic videogame stuff. I might as well speak an alien language to most people since I made less sense to people than the chinese students did! XD)

Ah you see sucking at sports had a larger impact on my bullying.

It wasn't the fact I sucked, it was the fact that the TEACHERS of all people would point that out.

Yeah, good idea to single me out as useless. They were practically the ring leaders in that situation.

Made me look like a special needs case to other people since they basically thrusted extra tutoring and crap on me.
(They weren't bad people, they just were not aware of the implications that singling out a student for poor performance would have)

The school valued arts and sport. The popular students were very sporty people. Arrogant morons really. (They proved it with their bad sportsmanship. In football they would only pass to their other sporty friends, shove the crap ones in defense (me being the worst would get goalie!), in rugby they were total ball-hoggers. In badminton/tenns they wouldn't say "good game" or anything, just look smug or bored. Basically a bunch of rude tossers really)

I had good times there. I met my best buddy there. I was in a ragtag group of fellow gaming nerds.

But after that, I haven't met many people with similar interests.

(Would meet up with people online, but again. Very paranoid, and most of the people I get on with tend to be on the opposite end of the world to me! XD)

Yeah, it probably will.

(Just need to get out of the "Uni trap" society has absent mindedly put in place. (I wish I could go back to past me and tell him not to bother. Not only am I not really suited for uni, buts its expensive, almost everyone has a degree, making them useless by design paradox, its expensive, the work is tailored for "block" assessed work (Exams I'm rubbish at, and coursework I tend to "overdo" and fail to get it done in time) rather than actual capabilites. And to top it all off: Employers don't even care about degrees. What they value the most is experience. REAL work experience. And Skillsets. They like to see people that can learn to do the job, and improve on themselves. Universities don't really prepare you for that like they should. I've done research on it as part of an employability assignment (which is basically why I failed to finish it. I was like "why bother?" in doing a career plan, research on jobs bla bla bla, when the evidence contradicts the purpose of the assignment). Oh and did I mention that its expensive? I might have missed that! XD)

EDIT:

(Oh yeah, and the job market is struggling on top. There are hundreds of people fighting for one position in many good jobs/placements, and my crappy grades and lack of work experience don't really give me much of a chance in the long run... (oh curse my irrititating self-aware intelligence. I'd rather have the obsessive intelligence, then I might actually get something done, and done well enough to make a living out of it. :( ))

I was a bloody barrier rail. If they stamped an advertisment on my ass I'd become perfect. I was pretty good at it too, nothing managed to knock me over.

Lolwut?

Lmao, indeed! Recreational sex serves many very important functions in society. Read up on Bobobo apes some time (they act the most like us, sexually, despite being a bit more removed genetically than chimps).

Tiny reminder:
YOU ARE GOING TO DIE. Maybe decades from now, maybe tomorrow - but it's going to happen.
Perhaps even worse than that - you are going to get old.

I suggest you dismiss all those insecurities and make use of your time while you still can.

You guys just need something to spark you up a bit. So chill the crap down with the confidence issues, and be yourself around girls. There's no need to pretend being something else.

Don't fear rejection, it can happen to anybody. Still, it is not worth to put much thought into it, just carry on with seeking other 'victims'.

Te problem is - there is no longer such a things as a single true "self". You're more likely to be dealing with plenty of distinct narrations strung together ;P.

Heh.Heh. Easier said than done!
(More literally in my case! XD)

But its not like I'm not content with my life, because mostly I am.
Plus I'm always going to be the Tortoise in life. Slowly making his way around the track, but if you look at things from my perspective, then there isn't no need to rush.

Afterall like the Hare, going into something too fast might be a bit dangerous.

Say life is like a game of Deal or No Deal.

You have a £10,000 box, but if you gamble you could get the £50,000, the £100,000 or even the £250,000 box, but then you could lose it all in the next turn, end up with the penny.

Honestly, I wouldn't gamble. I'd have a set limit, and I'd stick to it.
I'd be perfectly happy with £20,000, hell £10,000 isn't bad either. I might play 1 more round at that point, but if it goes down to £5000 or up to £20,000 I'll probably just take the cash.

No point worrying too much about what you could have one. Better to deal with what you did win. :D
(and think of how you can use that money. Some more games would be nice for me! Keep me busy for a good while! HAHA!)

EDIT: Say in terms of games, I prefer a Turn-based strategy game like Advance Wars or Civilisation over a real-time strategy game like Age of Empires or Total Annihilation.
I like to plan out my moves. Have time to think things over.
(I really suck at RTS by the way. Struggle to keep pace with my opponent)

No, relationships are not like that. They are more like:

"You have 0 pounds in your box, but if you gamble, you could win a million. If not, you'll still be broke."