I have never been in a relationship - never even dated anyone aside from 1 awkward relationship in high school, if you can even call it that. Crippling social anxiety and extremely low self-esteem are a bitch. My parents are always pushing me to start dating. They don’t want me to end up alone, especially after my best friend of 20 years finally found her significant other. I don’t want to open myself up, only to be rejected and have someone else reaffirm how I already feel about myself. I don’t want someone to love me either, if by the extremely rare chance it does happen. Why would I ever want someone love me romantically when I hate myself? Why should I “put myself out there” into the dating scene when I know I have nothing to offer? It sounds like the ultimate act of selfishness, to trick someone into caring about me when they could be missing out on a really wonderful and amazing person out there.