I've been lamenting for quite some time that making friends as an adult is hard, and it's a struggle to bring together folks who I know individually but couldn't quite figure out how to introduce to one another. If that resonates with you, read this book.

When I started reading this I challenged myself to have faith and dive in and actually throw a party according to the structure this book provides, and yesterday I did! And it went GREAT! It's funny because so much of what Gray suggests had me viscerally taken aback, I really really did not want to follow most of what he positions as a non-negotiable. When he said to [see spoiler at the very bottom] my introverted self actually felt actively nauseous at the thought. But I set out to follow it to the letter and I did it. And a little infuriatingly, it actually worked SO well.

The "party runway" made the event itself a breeze that I could actually enjoy, there wasn't a single last minute cancellation, I got to see a lot of people I probably wouldn't have otherwise, energetic conversations were happening between multiple unlikely and unexpected pairings, people responded positively to the very things I felt most nervous about, there wasn't a single wallflower (in fact, I think I only ever noticed a single person pull out their phone at all, and it was to communicate with someone making their way to the event), and I had multiple people thanking me for hosting and facilitating all of the introductions (including two people who are coworkers that see each other daily but have never managed to get together outside of work) and asking to come to the next party. Not only did the event go well, but I feel really invigorated and confident knowing that I rose to the challenge and can do scary things in pursuit of my own interests. It's also reaffirming to know that even if I go out on a limb and do something that feels a little awkward or embarrassing, my friends and acquaintances will not judge me but rather receive it warmly and even encourage it. There are a few tweaks I'll make before the next one, but I'm so excited to have more events like this and am truly shocked that I plan to keep the very things that originally made me so uncomfortable.
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Spoiler text: "use an actual HARMONICA to invite people to do an ICE BREAKER not once but THREE separate times ????"