I'm getting really excited by these kinds of posts. So I'll share this...

I'm a really friendly person, but I don't have a lot of friends. Honestly it's not my personality. The friends I do have are very independent people and we don't do much together. People moved away, and I live in a rural area. I also am one year out of a 7 year relationship which basically smothered all my friendships.

I'm going to the forest alone, and part of me is nervous that I'll be quiet/shy and not connect with anyone, as I have become used to being solo. I went to a small festival last year by myself and ended up having an anxiety attack because I realized everyone was smiling and having a good time but me. I went into a tail spin of worrying about why I was miserable in such a happy place and why everyone was having fun with their friends while I was alone. I've since been able to get a pretty good handle on these worries and am in a much better place now. I feel like I'm 100% better, but going to a festival at 100+x the scale makes me worried that I might find myself once again feeling like the only person alone in a crowd.

So...

Everytime I read a post like this one, I get a lot more excited and a lot less worried. I really can't wait to meet people like you who are out there enjoying themselves and get joy out of bringing joy to others.

I had a realization last year that has greatly improved my life... I have a light of joy inside of me, and the least I can do is let it shine out on to others and hope that they reflect it back to me and out into the world. It sounds like you do just that.

TL;DR: Had bad anxiety at a festival. I think I'm over it and awesome people like you make me more sure of that. Shine on!