Into the chaos of a new social setting

Unedited thoughts:

Over the years, I've built a nice little bubble of friends and acquaintances that I float around in. People I trust. People who are dependable and who have, more or less the same values, outlook and principles that I have. It was a nice thing to have, everything that was outside it, I could ignore and I could care less about. Whenever life throws something my way, these are the friends who back me up and shelter me. I don't have to think about what I say, I don't have to care about the way I look or the way I come across. I can make a mistake and they will be there without judgement. They already know me and they know what I've been through. So they understand where I'm coming from. Anything outside of the bubble, I can just ignore and still live my life blissfully.

I decided to step out of that bubble to expand my horizons all for the love of something I found out I was passionate about. It opened up a whole new world that I didn't expect and brought with it a lot of realizations. I realized that staying inside my bubble has reduced my capacity and tolerance for things that are unfamiliar. I didn't know how to make new friends. I didn't know how to adjust to new people whose backgrounds are different from mine. I usually just ignore them or make small talk and go back to my ever dependable circle. But no one from my circle really wants to join me in this and I don't want to be held back just because no one wants to go with me so I do it alone. And there's so much uncertainty and small talk and things I'd forgotten how to do. But I'll do it anyway. Because life isn't always simple and straightforward and these are growing pains that I need to go through because I won't let this passion go.