>>39 continued

I believe that the longer you wait to engage with others in real life, the more socially awkward you will feel, the less confident in communication, and thus the less likely to become engaged in society later on. I use the word society for a reason, as well: This isn't just about girlfriends and acquaintances, this is about people you will meet at work, etc. It will have a greater effect on your life than you may be imagining right now.

Finally, I, too, had a few "dream girls" of sorts. I did not flesh them out at all compared to what you have, and they generally changed and passed as I grew up and my interests changed. I tossed out the idea altogether when I realized that it wasn't truly benefiting me. It was a false sense of comfort, a security blanket that I ran to in order to feel better and more relaxed, but I wasn't changing anything in the process that would enable me to avoid the issues I used the security blanket to recover/hide from.

Not only is this true, but you should also consider the fact that even if things do not feel as comfortable in real life as they do in your fantasy (at least not right away), there is Great value in actually interacting. Meeting and knowing People is much more fulfilling and Interesting than being confined to your own mind, your own knowledge and experience. Is it any wonder that the acknowledged writers of history have largely been those who interacted with others at the most respected levels of soceity? Those who lives were interesting and vibrant in themselves?

Even those who seem to be on top of the world have their problems. No one is perfect, and this is one of the Values of engaging with flawed people. There is more to learn from and a larger breadth of emotion to experience. There are some people who may not be worth interacting with, and even most may be unpleasant, but even by knowing these people you can become more secure in yourself, with who you are. The variety of experience is valuable.

Finally, if you go through your life and have bad experiences with people year after year that are not bad of your own fault, then you can be content in knowing that you Are a good person, and that you will know if you ever do meet another good person. Should that day come (And I think there's a decent possibility of it happening far sooner than you'd think), you'll be able to appreciate humanity for what it is, and experience how much better it is than your imagination, no matter how you use it.

And that's what's really important, and that's why it's worth it. Experience nearly always, if not always, beats imagination. You have to give one up in order to experience the other fully.