One issue I am running into is I am an amateur when it comes to a lot of my hobbies. I feel like if I were to join up with someone else or a group I'd be slowing them down.
Try finding a group that's at your level. There are other amateurs out there. It worked out for me. I kept mentioning my hobby (and lack of a friendly group to share it with) to people in appropriate circumstances and in the end my coworker/friend helped me infiltrate a group that's at just the right level of amateurness for me. It's possible!
I can only speak for myself and my experiences, but generally people are interested in sharing their hobbies and helping people love what they want.
There are, of course, exceptions, such as private ttrpg sessions that might just happen to be in a public place. Even then, a polite request to sit in and listen might be accepted.
Even if someone isn’t interested in helping induct an amateur, they can likely point you to people or resources to get started and build skills.
Communication is everything. Just be honest about yourself and what you’re looking for and you’ll probably find where you need to be. Don’t get discouraged with a bad encounter, it’s probably not about you.
One issue I am running into is I am an amateur when it comes to a lot of my hobbies. I feel like if I were to join up with someone else or a group I'd be slowing them down.
Try finding a group that's at your level. There are other amateurs out there. It worked out for me. I kept mentioning my hobby (and lack of a friendly group to share it with) to people in appropriate circumstances and in the end my coworker/friend helped me infiltrate a group that's at just the right level of amateurness for me. It's possible!
I can only speak for myself and my experiences, but generally people are interested in sharing their hobbies and helping people love what they want.
There are, of course, exceptions, such as private ttrpg sessions that might just happen to be in a public place. Even then, a polite request to sit in and listen might be accepted.
Even if someone isn’t interested in helping induct an amateur, they can likely point you to people or resources to get started and build skills.
Communication is everything. Just be honest about yourself and what you’re looking for and you’ll probably find where you need to be. Don’t get discouraged with a bad encounter, it’s probably not about you.