How to actually start dating?

[shadower4]

Sorry if this is in the wrong spot but i really have a problem...

I'm an introvert, i used to have horrible social anxiety but fought it and made sooo much progress, i can actually converse with people now and seem normal and not awkward about it. The thing is i just turned 22 and i'm still a very lonely person, i don't have many friends, i have people i will often hang out with and stuff but i'm not really close with any of them. All i really want is a soul mate. I never understood how everyone i know around me goes in and out of relationships when i'm never able to get in one... I used to have low self esteem but i've been told literally over 15 times by girls and guys that i'm very attractive in the past year alone, it has really made my confidence sky rocket but even still i just don't understand woman... sure i can make conversation with a girl i know but i don't know how to flirt and if i tried i would probably come off as weird. In my search for a girl, i did the frat party thing all last semester since my room mate was a party animal. All i found were really loose girls, jerk guys trying to start fights and usually when that wasn't the case i would just stand in a corner the whole time not know what to do or to afraid to approach a random girl. I tried online dating match dot come to be exact but literally i only had 2 people even view my profile, i think the male to female ratio was extremely skewed i checked plenty of fish and found that like 500 guys were in my area and like 180 girls, i didn't even bother with that website...my school is 65% female though so the odds are in my favor but like i said, i don't know how to even talk to any of them... the only 2 clubs i have interest in ( gaming and tennis club) are all male... i'm really hopeless my greatest fear in life aside from failing financially is being alone, growing to be 30- 40- 50 never having that special love from someone. i feel really hopeless right now

[pseudosooz]

This is a great question! (don't feel alone! Lots of introverts experience this conundrum, and ESPECIALLY in their early twenties). I know it's crazy, you turn 18 and you feel old, and then you can't believe it when you turn 21 and you think 'holy hell, I'm over the hill'. The truth is that you are perfectly on par with where you might as well be. Most relationships people have at your age don't last, not to downplay heartbreak: it definitely serves a purpose, but shit.. Who is rushing to experience that? Heartbreak feels like the lonely you feel now x by 5 big boat loads of ego crushing insecurity.
Another good thing to know would be that everyone reaches the optimum end game by being in an excellent relationship with themselves. There is nothing more attractive than somebody who is loving being single, and nothing more repellant than someone who can't handle it. Being single is a chance to prove yourself as a prize, and that is win/win, because if you do it right, you'll either end up with somebody you love to be with (a partner), or somebody you love to be with (yourself).
But in reality, you'll end up with lots of options and the point is, (especially for an introvert), is to choose another person who is strong on their own, so that you don't end up getting suffocated, which is your opposite potential. Stay centered, stay clear!

Good Luck!