Article: After school activities give you a chance to meet a bunch of new people while focusing on something else. Doing something with other people gives you something in common to talk about, and makes it easier to start a conversation if you're shy. Make sure the after school activity you pick is something you really like to do. If you're doing an activity you don't like, you probably won't feel comfortable enough to make friends. Don't join an activity that has too many or too few people. Too many people will make it hard for you to talk to anyone and too few people can put a lot of focus on you. You'll know best how many people you're comfortable with, but you probably want a group with more than four but fewer than fifteen people in it. Keep the size of the group in mind when you're picking an activity. When you're trying to make friends when you're shy, talking in the middle of a big group of people can feel really scary. Instead, look for someone who looks friendly, or who you kind of know already from school, and try to have a one-on-one conversation. If you're in a larger group, like an after school activity, look for someone who smiles at you when you smile, or who starts a conversation with you. That person is probably a good option for making a first friend. You can also look for someone else who looks shy. Maybe they keep to themselves or are sitting alone. Someone else who is shy and who has a hard time making friends will understand how you feel. That can make it a little easier to become friends. If you feel too shy to talk to people in person, try using social media to connect instead. It's a great way to make friends without having to walk up to someone you don't know very well and starting a conversation. For example, if you've noticed someone at school that you think you might want to be friends with, message them on social media. You can use something like Facebook messenger or direct messages on Twitter to connect to people you might want to be friends with. You can say something like, "Hi Jessica! My name is Katie. I've seen you at school and I'm pretty shy, but I wanted to say hello." This is a great way to start a conversation and to get to know someone a little better before you have to talk to them in person.
What is a summary of what this article is about?
Join after school activities. Focus on one person at a time. Use social media.