Anyone else get major "mic fright" after getting licensed? Love the tinkering, nervous about the talking
I got into amateur radio because I love the science, the tinkering, and the technical side of the hobby. But now that I’m licensed, I’ve run into an unexpected wall. I find myself nervous to actually chat with strangers. As someone who is used to only talking to established friend groups online, staring at the mic feels a bit daunting.
I know it’ll get better with practice, but right now I find myself freezing up, not knowing what to say other than my call sign and a few remarks after lol.
I know local clubs exist, but I kinda want ham radio to be a hobby I can enjoy comfortably from home. Also I'm generally a shy person, which I guess doesn't help? Does anyone else struggle with wanting to make contacts but being too anxious to key the mic? How did you break through it?
Edit: I wanted to thank everyone for giving their advice and thoughts! It's reassuring that many feel the same way and that many are encouraging to keep trying. I will try some POTA stuff for practice as some people suggested and I'm more curious to learn more about CW,FT8, etc as some have mentioned. I'll send out my call sign to the airwaves some more and see what happens. Thank you again everyone! 73 :)