PinchersAndShells wrote:I plan on completely surrounding myself with the animals this summer so hopefully I will have fun, I do not have any in real life friends and I have to turn in my only device with internet access which is the school computer. I'm afraid of having to deal with some of my mental health issues by myself but I feel like it is my fault for not having anyone to talk to. I do not have social skills and I do not know how to start conversations/keep the conversation going, and I'm very paranoid of other people's intentions. I'm hoping the summer won't suck as bad as I'm pretty sure it's going to.
Sorry to hear that. We'll miss you on the forum, if it helps. 
Animals are great, and it's pretty fun to train them if you have time for that and they're so inclined. My cat was my best friend for most of my youth, and I also had a really awesome dog that we did agility training with. Raising baby critters is pretty awesome and rewarding too, if you have the opportunity.
One thing you might try is joining a non-online group of folks around where you will be living who like to do the same thing (karate, jogging, fencing (it's kinda like 3D-chess), beekeepers societies, gardening societies, book clubs, etc.). That will give you something to talk about with other people, and opportunities to practice your conversation and social skills in a low-stress environment - you already know everyone likes whatever the subject of the group is, so you don't have to work so hard to pick a topic. I found the things that helped me most with social skills and conversing were practice, practice, practice, and close observation of folks who knew how to do it well. And I also read a bunch of self-help books - some of those were more useful than others and gave me some really good ideas, but really, practicing was the most helpful, and then kinda reviewing how each conversation went, and what I might do better next time.
Hope you have a great summer!
