So I got to thinking: a lot of what I do here is just complain, or ask for advice because I have problems.

I guess that's what most people do here.

I have come to SnA for solutions to a lot of my issues, and a lot of issues have been solved. Read a lot of great advice and taken a lot of stuff on board.

So instead of being another "my social skills are shitty and lolz I need help", I am going to list some ways in which things have improved in the past few years.

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I have a social life

From 2005 until this year, I have really had a shit social life. I would often go a whole month without hanging with anyone outside my flat, job, or place of study. Sometimes I went several months. I would have one or two friends living in the same area as me, and I wouldn't see them regularly at all.

Now I am socialising and going out every weekend, if not more. People enjoy seeing me and I am not offending people/being a dick like I used to. I have several good friends in the area, more acquaintances that I can count, and I am making more all the time. No longer do I sit at home most weekends lonely and wondering why people hate me.

It's pretty amazing to think what things were like a few years back. I had always figured I was just defective or broken.

I meet women

And not just on the internet either:P Naturally, back when I had no social life, I certainly had no IRL woman prospects. It was difficult enough to find guys to hang out with, let alone talk to those female things I loathed yet wanted.

These days I meet a fair few though. Granted most of them don't fit my idea of 'girlfriend material', but I'm making female friends and keeping my options open, and have a healthier attitude of them than I did before.

I have a working relationship with both my parents

I had pretty much cut both out of my life at one point, and I could stand neither. I figured the only way to move forward in my life was to forget about them.

Things aren't perfect between me and the folks, there are still issues, but we can talk, and I actually like keeping in contact with them. They have both fucked up majorly in my past, sure, but I can see that they both care about me.

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There's still a lot of work to do with everything, but I think - in terms of human interaction - I have taken some definite steps forward in my life.

Would anyone else like to share?

Im pretty much in the same situation as you... This past year Ive begun opening up and socializing, as well as not really caring about what people think of my actions and beliefs. I've found its better to express yourself as you truely are and have people that appreciate those qualities as well as people that despise you because of them than to not open up and have nobody that actually admires you. If that makes any sense.

Who knew that the internet was more then just a waste of time? Congratulations.

I'm at the stage where I tell myself to keep on keeping on, and hope it will be better one day. This said, I'm still thankful for what I've got.

A mate of mine [female] said she's going to set me up with one of her mates next weekend.

It's going to be horrifically awkward and painful.

I'm glad to see a happy customer!

Stick around mate...More to come!

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Well when i moved to this new town about a year ago, i found it difficult to make friends, because it was a private school and i was not used to the stuck up nature of most of them so anyway my social life was sucky i had about 5 friends and only saw two of them out of school, but this year i started at a public school, and now things couldn't be better, I'm back in my comfort zone, i have lots of friends I'm going out every weekend, just like before i moved to this shit hole of a town lol

Congrats on the only good thing to ever come out of totse!

Except for the mods at Oral Indulgences... my god... so much good food... *salivates on SnA*

I'm basically in the same boat as you with the social life.
Up to my 16th birthday last year I had little to no social life, occasionally going out with about two different guys.
Then I hit sixth form, and the school parties and nature of free lessons and the common room have ended up in me meeting more friends.
Now I'm 17, as of two days ago, and the past year has been awesome. I'm out every weekend, some week days, usually with a core group of ten awesome friends and dozens more who will sometimes hang out with us if they can. I love my friends, and hope that they love me back.
They all have friends that I'm meeting, and still some I haven't met, and most of them are awesome as well and I can't wait to see them again. Just have to wait out a week til most of the core get back from their holidays.
I've also started working out and am slowly bulking up muscle as well.

I'm still not that confident with girls though, so I need to sort that out. I feel a bit more confident after two or three certain girls at a party though.
I also argue with my mum all the time, and I feel like running out so many times. I went out with a girl for about a week before she said we're better as friends, and that made me feel really shitty for a week and my mum was getting pissed off at me cause I don't like to talk about girl problems with her and I just get angry back at her, leading to more arguments.
But yeah, seems like things can only go up from here.

Same situation, and now I've been opening up and things got better.