For some backstory, I have been an introvert for literally all my life. Even as a toddler at like 1to5 yo I didn't like new people and was very withdrawn (or so I have been told). In the more recent years of my life I have been a bit more social but never had more than one friend at once and my girlfriend, she has also had an impact on me becoming more of a social person.

My parents have tried to get me to be more social in the past. My little brother (who's like the biggest extrovert ever) have also tried to get me out of my shell. But I guess I was never really interested in it as I have always interacted with the people I needed to and felt like one friend is more than enough. I'm not the awkward introvert either, sometimes shy, but never awkward before

This weekend we were at a function where I didn't interact with a lot of people, kinda like I always do. So afterwards my dad told me in the car on the way home that I really need to get out of my shell and that I can't live my whole life like this, especially now since I'm almost done with school. For some reason this hit me like a brick. Later my girlfriend told me that maybe my dad is right, it'd be the best for me, I don't have to have my walls up all of the time.

So I have decided that I'll interact more, and just be more social in general. For people that have had a similar experience, do you have any advice?