I"m so happy to see the honesty in the posts!!!! It's beautiful...all that needs to be said has been said already...except...I LOVE you guys!

Please do reach out...throw a shoe at me any time and say "Hey, what's up?!" lol I have felt the same as you at times. The VERY best way to feel connected is to reach out...I think we've all felt "left out" at times, for sure! It's usually when we pull back and are waiting for others to reach in our direction that we feel that way most, at least that has been the case for me. Sometimes you just need to send an email to someone who you relate to...you may be surprised how happy they are to hear from you!

Be fearless and bold, we want to know who you are!!!! Big hugs, Mel and Jenny,and any one else who's feeling that way, too! Always feel free to let people know "where you're at" on this journey so we can really be there for you!

I love all the responses here! I LOVE T.COM!!!

Wow! Such an upbeat post! Thanks for your support Jami! I was so worried about writing my post this a.m. but now I'm so very glad I did. I'll keep reaching out!

THANKS EVERYONE!
Mel

Taterrito, you are a genius! Posting this in the main forum was a great idea. I think there are lots of people who have had the same experience because they are new to social networking, and "making friends" is very different online. I know I joined last summer but just couldn't figure out how to connect. So I went away, then came back this spring and tried harder to figure it out. I think the best thing that happened the second time around was I joined an accountability group that requested members post every day. That really gave me the chance to kind of narrow the field and really get to know some people on the site.

Also I found it was useful to reach out to others by commenting on their blogs (the ones that I really felt like I had something to say about.) I think the more time you spend checking out other peoples profiles and blogs the easier it will be for you to recognize the kindred spirits in the group.

Good luck to you and PLEASE swing by and say hi. I'll do the same.
And welcome!
Gaye

Welcome aboard and good luck on your transformation.

re: "...he's even started eating like me."

This is one of the most simple, awesome things I've read on the site all morning! I mean that sincerely. Inspiring your family isn't always the easiest thing to do--good for you! I understand your struggles with friendship and I share some similar issues from my youth. I have to applaud you for being so honest in this post (that's not easy either). I can only echo what others have said: reaching out and being for others what you want for yourself is what this site is all about. I'm going to send you a friend request and follow your progress!

John

Oh you are so not alone in this. I felt this for a while, I was sitting back and waiting for peopelt o come to me because I didn't feel that I had much to offer. I also notice that when my activity slows down on the site for whatever reason, my inbox doesnt get many messages and my profile page either.... funny how that works. As Janelle and so many others say, reach out and it will come back to you. The Law of Reciprocation. And dont ever feel bad for reaching out. We are all here for the same purpose and some people hit it off easier than others and some people becmoe closer than others. But put yourself out there and never doubt your contribution!!! Love you! xoxoxo

Thanks! I like your quote John!

Lesley - I've been reaching out more and I'm in the process of trying to put together a meet/greet/run here in Indy with some of my Hoosier Transformers!

Mel

Definitely introduce yourself in the forum great advice....

How could you reach out more?

Do you often feel left out in your life?

Just some things to ponder....there is a wise saying "how we do one thing is how we do everything?"

You are a loved, most welcomed member of this community and I have faith you will figure it out....

Hi, Mel. Welcome to T.com. Everyone who has already responded to your thread has pretty much said what I was going to say but let me reinterate that I learned awhile ago (I joined May of 08") that with a community as big as this one is that its easy to overlook someone's post, blog, thread etc. There were responses to my posts that I missed and when I finally saw them I apologized to the person for taking so long to respond. It can be overwhelming at times to try to keep up but what I do is I spend alittle time each day reviewing my comments to my profile to make sure I didnt miss any and respond to those who have commented on my profile page, I browse the forums and see if there are any threads that pique my interest and even if someone responded the way I would have, I STILL post my response regardless. When I first joined, I did a thread stating that I was new to T.com, who I was, etc. and I got responses from that and built friendships from there and I did the same for others when they said they were new...I welcomed them. There were times also that I felt I was being overlooked but I didn't take it personally, theres so much going on here but believe me, you had a great response to your thread and it will only grow from here. Stop by and say hello as often as you like and feel free to ask any questions as well.....~Shannon

Hi Mel!
I had similiar feelings when I first was here at the site. There were some strong bonds between certain members from the get go. (T.com has a way of helping people to form amazing friendships quickly). I would write threads and really put a lot into them. I would check back often looking to see who responded and what they had to say....only to find, no one responded. That fed into my acceptance issues that were a serious problem in my life. Acceptance was a huge part of my Transformation that I needed to overcome. In my life I felt no one loved me, no one was ever going to love me, so what was the use of trying anymore. My kids didn't want to be with me and then I felt these people didn't even want to read what I had to say. Why didn't anyone respond, who knows. Maybe it just got shuffled in between other threads. Maybe with what I wrote, people didn't know how to respond.

So, I tried a different approach. I started reaching out to others who were asking for help. I read blogs, read threads and read profiles. If I saw someone who was struggling, I simply offered support. Have you tried this? Have you offered welcomes to new members in the community? When you received your welcomes did you click on them and go to their pages and introduce yourself further and ask questions about them? It was when I started doing those things, people started reaching out to me. I joined in May 08. I didn't have comments on my profile until late June and July. I try to make an effort to respond to everyone who comments on my profile and who responds or comments on a thread or blog I write. Before you know it, you build amazing relationships with one another.

I truly believe you get what you give. If you continue to give support and friendship, you are going to be rich with both.

Never feel like you are talking too much. Always reach out when you need a hand. We are all here for you. What is even better is that you can be there for someone else who may need a helping hand.

So happy that you are here and I look forward to getting to know you better.

Carolynn

I think it was really honest of you to share your authentic feelings. When we express ourselves the way that you did in this post, we open ourselves to connection. What I liked about your true expression of how you were feeling is that you invited people in. That is a first step in connecting with others. It's about putting ourselves out there and you did so in a big way.

I'm a newbie here myself. I don't really know anyone here except the friend who followed me over here from the online community I run. I'm just kind of jumping in and getting involved here. I hope to make some great connections.

I for one, would love to connect with you. It always helps to have some support buddies along the way. By the way, I saw your 4 week progress photo. You look great! I really see the lift in your spirit. You've made fantastic progress. Keep that positive momentum going!

-Shannon