Friendship is Magic · 9:45pm Aug 14th, 2014
Sorry, I couldn't think of a better title. 
Alright, this is sort of a serious blog. Down to business, I guess.
I've been a part of this fandom for...gosh. Three years, give or take? Ish. I didn't really have a concrete starting point. But that's not really the point.
The entire brony community is based off of the idea of love and tolerance. Pretty sure we all knew that already. Everyone's really open and accepting and willing to make new friends, yada yada. Yet, in order to make friends, you have to put yourself out there.
And that's where I have a problem. You see, as long as I've been in this fandom, I haven't made a single brony friend. And it's my own fault, I guess. Maybe I'm not putting myself out there in the right ways.
I've always been a bit of a Twilight Sparkle. Here's what I mean: in the pilot episodes, she didn't actively seek out friends. She was in a situation that forced her to be with others and interact with them, and a friendship sprang from that. But she didn't go up to each of them and ask them to come along; they did it willingly. I have friends in real life, but, like Twilight, I didn't actively seek them out and say, "Want to be friends?" Gosh, no. I'm way too shy for that. I met my friends because the seat next to them was the only one open at lunch, and they started talking to me, or we were assigned partners on a project, or we were in a play together and absolutely had to interact.
In real life, the idea of walking up to someone I don't know and saying anything terrifies me. I think I'd rather be shot, to be honest. I have really bad social anxiety. However, this is the Internet, and one of the most famous (or infamous) qualities about the Internet is the anonymity that comes with it, so I feel a bit more comfortable interacting with others. And I really do want to get to know people. I hear people all over saying, "I'll never forget the friendships I've made through this fandom." That's a pretty cool idea.
So my question is, How do you meet these people? I PM'd a random user, on a whim, but it was pretty awkward (and it sounds even more awkward now when I mention it like that). I've written blogs and stories, commented on other stories, and started a deviantart. I've joined a few (okay, two) groups and applied to be an editor. But from there, I have no idea where to go. Are you supposed to comment on other peoples' user pages when they favorite your stories? To me, that seems as useless and slightly annoying as writing on someone's Facebook page for their birthday. I need Pinkie Pie in my life, to teach me how to make friends.
So my question for you is, do you have other brony friends? How did you meet them? How do you meet other people, in general? And, well, do you want to be friends? (I've got a Skype, if anyone's interested...)
Gosh, I feel kinda silly putting a super-personal blog out there. Lately, though, I've been thinking:
(Sorry about the unnecessary animation, but I couldn't find a still frame for this.)
Anyway, uh, I'm going to go submit this blogpost, before I chicken out and delete it again. 
Comment box is thataway. \/ \/
~Dizzy
try and find some common ground, see if they're interested in what you're interested in. Let me give you an example; my new friend, Arya Stark and I got to know each other through our mutual love of werewolves.
2370481
Uh, well, what I'm sort of trying to ask is, how do you encounter these people in the first place?
2370485 Hmm, you could try going to a social gathering of Bronies, like Bronycon, or any comic book convention will draw out a few.
2370490
I currently am not old enough to drive, and don't have nearly enough money to go to a con, since I'm trying to save for college. That's what I've been thinking is the only option, though, hence the blogpost. Is that really the only way to get out there? Darn it.
2370494 well no, not really. you could look for brony groups on the internet and try that. I found one called BONC ((Bronies of Northern California)) and they're awesome people.
2370498
I've tried. I couldn't find any in my area, and I feel really awkward joining a different one because I don't live there.
Sorry, I'm not trying to shoot down ideas, but I really feel like I've exhausted all my options.
Sorry.
2370503 Chill bro. do you have a Skype account? You could try that.
2370507
I do have a Skype. But where do I go from there?
Sorry, if I sound completely clueless and annoying here.
2370514 try asking others for their Skype names if they have one and add them, then from there just chat it up
2370536
Well, that's pretty self-explanatory, I guess.
How do I find these "Others"? Would it be socially acceptable to PM an interesting-looking user? Or does that become the creepy kind of antics that people end up using for stories at parties?
Gah, I'm even annoying me now. Sorry. Feel free to just drop this, if you want. I don't mean to sound desperate.
2370549 you can pm someone saying that you;re looking for interesting people to talk to, you can post Skype request in certain groups, like anti depression bronies. In fact, as the one who suggested this, I shall give you mine. my Skype username is metalquill91
2370554
Thanks for all of your help. Seriously.
Uh, sorry. One more question. I'm rather inexperienced with Skype. I thought you had to be friends with someone to be in a group chat. Are there groups on Skype like there are on here, more forums than a chat?
And thank you again.
2370562 a few groups on here have Skype, I can't name them, but they exist.
2370566
Well, I'll be sure to look. Thank you so, so much for the pointers.
2370579 no problem, and feel free to add me to your Skype contacts
I'm in a similar boat; I haven't been to any brony gatherings or events (although I eventually want to remedy that).
I don't have skype, but feel free to PM me to talk ponies and writing about ponies