So after abstaining from PMO for 12 days (I wanted to see if abstaining from masturbation would make any difference in how I felt, thanks /NoFap) and lurking on this sub for a day or two, I decided I would try and approach a girl in the street for the first time..

 
About Me:  
I wouldn't consider myself ugly, but I do look very young for a 19 year old am told that every single time I go on a night out, usually 2 or 3 times a night. I've never had a girlfriend (only one long distance one for a few months, we never met), although I've always had female friends at school/college. I'm pretty much kiss-less and therefore obviously a virgin and have never done anything sexual. I am quite a sociable person and don't have problems talking to people, but I never show any intent or signs of attraction because I fear rejection and have always had the mindset that I would always get rejected if I ever approached a girl.

So I was out yesterday, I dressed smart, put on some aftershave, and decided, after reading many posts on this sub-reddit and /NoFap, I would give it a go..

 

The Girl:  
There was a girl walking ahead of me, I contemplated approaching her, I left it too long and the anxiety I felt was so immense I felt a little sick. She began walking down a side street and I let her go. I felt a little disheartened and ashamed so I turned around and went back to the town center to see if I could see anyone else. After about 5 minutes, as I was heading home, she was there, right in front of me. It was as if there was someone saying "you're not getting away with it that easily, grow a fucking pair and give it a go". I walked behind her for a few minutes, trying to gain the courage to make the initiation.

 

The Approach:  
Eventually, I amassed the confidence (I had been reading through posts on this sub and NoFap in the morning and was generally in a good, positive mood) to tap the girl on her arm as I walked passed. She instantly, turned around, stopped, pulled out her earphones and blurted "I don't know you". I stood there, smiled confidently, making eye-contact and keeping strong posture, and said "Okay. I just thought I'd stop you as I found you cute". By this time, pretty much all the anxiety had gone as I was engaging in conversation and was focused on her, not any potential repercussions you think about while trying to accumulate courage to approach. She then said, with no expression/emotion, "I've had a boyfriend for 5 years", to which I responded with "Well I've had a girlfriend for 2 years, so what?", said playfully/sarcastically, laughing to myself a bit. To that she said "Okay bye", plugged her earphones in and went on her way.

 

The Aftermath:  
So I got rejected, she was actually quite a bitch about it and would usually have made me feel terribly shitty.. I walked away quite confused, my emotions were mixed, my old, negative side was thinking somewhat suicidal, but I overcame this and instead thought "Well I've succeeded; I actually tried cold-approach, completely sober, in the middle of the day". Although her response to my approach was somewhat bitter, it didn't get to me, I walked home smiling, feeling proud that I approached a girl and complimented their looks, showing attraction.

 

For the Future:  
I now know it's honestly not as hard as I first thought. There was about a week in January where I binged so many RSD videos on YouTube that made it look so easy. These videos are honestly very helpful and good fun to watch. However, I feel this subreddit (and /NoFap) are great because you can communicate with people who could potentially be in the same position as yourself (or who have been in the same position at least). It's given me a lot of reassurance and self-confidence, so thanks for that everyone. From now on I am going to try and approach a girl every day/every other day, and see if I get results, taking things from each approach (what went well, what went poorly and how I can improve my approach for the next time).

 

tl;dr:  
Tried my first approach, retained eye-contact and good posture. Got rejected. Felt proud that I approached instead of feeling sorry for myself and self-loathing. Gained confidence and realized that after you have opened a girl, it's not scary at all and that AA gets worse the longer you leave the approach, so do it before it gets the better of you.

Edit 1: Looking back, I don't think she was a bitch about it. I can empathize quite a lot: Perhaps she was just having a shitty day, also, I took her by surprise and she just "put up her defenses", hence the opening "I don't know you".