Hi everyone. Like many new members here, I am in the process of reading "The Game" and found this forum through a web search.

I feel a little odd rattling off my life history and reason for being here, but I'll do so anyway, if not to get advice then just to get it off my chest.

I'm a college Freshman in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with a rather normal life, but I'm on a little rough social ground. Throughout middle school and most of high school, I battled with depression, which killed my confidence and made me a very unpleasant person to be around. Naturally, I quickly fell to the bottom of the social ladder. My junior year I got my mind back under control with the help of medication and became "normal" again, but I had a tough time fighting back up the social ladder, and overcoming my own bad habits. Also going against me is that I'm by nature rather shy. I've been breaking out of my shell more and more with time, and now I can often 'force' myself into a more outgoing role.

I've been inspired by a couple of acquaintances of mine, who seem to have the natural ability to be in control of social situations. They're friends with everyone, and are treated like celebrities wherever they go. They are always the unchallenged leader of any group, and they have girls lining up after them. I've gotten into a few personal relations and social dynamics books in an attempt to learn what they have and gain my own "cult of personality."

As far as "The Game" is concerned, I'm not interested in having a new girl every night like some PUAs, as I would rather have one strong relationship with one girl. And I'm not very interested in corny routines and openers. But the ability to attract females and overcome my own lack of confidence and socially awkward habits is appealing to me. I've only had a couple of girlfriends in my life, neither one for more than a month. I've never even kissed a girl before, so I have a long way to go.

Let me know if anyone has advice on some books/material that might help me. Right now I'm re-reading "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie, and would definitely recommend it to anyone.