I was in 9th grade and a semi-pretty girl asked me to dance at a school event.  I said no because I was shy.  It was the biggest social mistake of my life.  After that, I never said no about any social opportunity and I had way more fun because of it.

What have you missed because you're shy?

I don't think I was ever asked anything TO turn down due to shyness. The effect of my shyness was much more indirect and got worse as I grew up. My mom always got progress reports with flying grades, but comments that I talked way too much, when I was little bitty. Those comments were like staples for my grade reports. However, as I got older, I became more and more shy because my parents really sheltered their kids and I wasn't allowed to do much. I nearly always sat in the back of the room and -never- talked to anyone. I wouldn't start conversations, and people didn't start conversations with me. They simply had no interest in me. If someone DID happen to talk to me, it was for one of two reasons: they wanted to make fun of me, or they wanted something from me (pencil, paper, etc). Still, classmates talked to other people more than they talked to me. It was as though I was invisible. lol

That's okay. I couldn't make myself say hi to anyone, and if someone said hi to me, I sometimes didn't respond, or would give the quietest possible 'hi' back. I think I was nervous about interacting with others because I knew I could never fit in with them. Their parents gave them far more freedom than my own did, and they knew a lot more about the 'adult world'. Even if I had the courage to make friends, I knew I would never be allowed to do anything with them, so what was the point?

My extreme shyness, therefore, definitely made me miss out on a lot of things. The biggest thing I missed out on was friendship / companionship. I don't even know how to make friends to this day in real life, and I feel awkward talking to people. I don't ever feel like I can fit in, and I still feel like most people my age are more 'experienced' than I am.

Probably a wife. 
I was very serious with a girl in high school, but, because she was my first girlfriend, I took 6 months to kiss her. I was taking it slow. Too slow in fact, and that ended up costing me. But, it was probably for the better. She ended up introducing me to her " new boyfriend " in front of our favorite teacher, the last class of the day. Turns out she had been cheating on me for about a week and a half when she introduced me to the new guy. 
So, even though it was probably for the better, I probably missed out on a wife for being to shy with my girlfriend. 

I missed out on girlfriends , dates and relationships due to my shyness. Looking back at things I see that I had so many opportunities and moments growing up that I missed out on.

Never again!

Whelp, I've had multiple people ask me to do... things, I wanted to say yes one time but I was too shy so I said no... frankly, I'm grateful of my shyness then.
Other times, I missed out on multiple friends due to my shyness, also then, I found out later they weren't exactly model friends half the time.
Also to note, before I got the chestnuts to do it, I had multiple chances to tell people about my current situation in my life, which before then was PRETTY bad, but I had always been to shy because of obvious reasons... I didn't have enuff chestnuts to bribe someone with gimme a break! D:

Up until high school, I missed out on a social life. I was very short, very skinny, and very weird.
I got picked on a lot, and combine that with a very troubled home life, and I had no friends whatsoever.
I was a child of abuse you see, and it left me with a lot of issues that the other children didn't understand.
I was very shy, and had a lot of trust issues. Due to that, I strayed away from even the people who actually reached out to me
Even around 8th grade, when I started to fill out a bit and girls started showing an interest in me, I couldn't connect to people
Heck, at that point I didn't even know how to connect to people even when I wanted to, and that made me even more shy
Finally, by high school, I realized I didn't care anymore. It didn't matter if I was weird.
It didn't matter what people thought of me, and if people made fun of me.
I was gonna enjoy myself, and if other people didn't like me, well that was their problem, not mine.
This is also the period in life where I stood up to my father for the first time, and made it clear that he wasn't gonna put his hands on me ever again, because I was big enough to fight back now.

Of course, this new attitude, and he fact that I had moved to a different school where no one knew me, made me suddenly popular.
Kind of annoyed me that I become popular by not caring anymore if I was popular.
I look back though, and I'm proud of how I handled the situation.
Instead of going diva or something, I used that popularity to build up other people I saw that were going through the same thing I had.
Whenever I saw someone that wanted to reach out, but couldn't, I tried to find a way to ease them into social interaction
As many problems as I still had, and as many anger issues that were still floating around in my mind
It made me feel good to help other children that hadn't found a way to cope with whatever problems they had
It's the reason I became interested in becoming  child therapist.
A way to reach out and help children that went through the type of abuse at both home and school, that I myself went through.
I felt like i was trapped in an emotional maze, and that no one could help.
I felt completely alone, and more so, I felt I was supposed to be completely alone. Like that was the way it had to be
If I can help others realize that there is a better way, that it's ok to be overwhelmed and accept help
then it will all be worth it.

Wow, meant to write a lot less than that, lol

I remember being really shy before high school and I got picked on a lot since I was one of the nerds in my class. If I wasn't so shy, I would probably be like a normal human being instead of a cheating tool for school work or being a ghost that nobody wants to talk to or know about.

I'm probably missing chances as we speak. My shyness is pretty crippling outside of typing. My voice is so soft, 95% of people I manage to talk to don't hear me.

People try to talk to me and be my friends, but my shyness, coupled by my timid nature, usually keeps me quiet and a bit awkward around them. They keep trying, but I'll probably miss the chance due to it. I've done it before.

I guess I don't have it as rough as some of the others who are shy around here, because people actually try to know me. It's simply the fact I just don't know how to respond, my mind just kinda flops when I am put into a social situation.

Shyness tore me from reality and put me in my own little bubble growing up.

From a very young age I was picked on and bullied. I did manage a very small group of friends and they were my everything and continue to be so. 

However, I missed quite a bit as far as learning how to build relationships that you can considerably learn as a kid in high school with a strong support group/family. I never had any of those things either so it was doomed to even try.

Now as an adult I've become one of the lucky ones to make new friends who understand the struggles I went though. I've come out of my bubble since then. I hold onto some of the damaging behaviors I had, but I've learned how to control and get over most of them.

I missed the opportunity to be on the top shelf of the refrigerator T_T My owner took 4 more minutes to make me compared to OTHER sandwiches, and stuck me in the fridge because his "boo" came home....So I waited, and I waited, until finally he opens the door, ONLY TO PUT A GALLON OF MILK ON THE TOP SHELF, WHILE I'M SITTING THERE LIKE CHOPPED LIVER!!! The liver and I DID get a chance to talk about our feelings on the universe, until the dog got hungry and ate him (R.I.P.)

I'm on my phone now, still in the cold refrigerator as my lettuce darkens and my mayo gets fuzzy...Please, help me

Where to begin? I was shy and...
- Ended up not talking to sooo many girls that I should've talked to
- Someone else ended up getting that candy
- The class debate was loss on my team
- I didn't join certain teams/clubs
- Hid behind my parents and decided not to be a curious kid at various events
- I didn't learn how to swim when I was younger

There are plenty more but those I can list easily. The truth is that there are so many I couldn't even fathom how long this list will get if I spend the time to list even just a quarter of them all. There is no shame in admitting this but it is good now that I know being shy really sucks because there are so many opportunities lost. So cmon if you want something, don't be shy, just ask. Many times you may never even see that person again unless you live in a small town that is...The reward is worth it and if you let shyness take control, you may never know what the outcome is. Even though I say this though, I have to admit that I still find myself being shy in some situations but it happens quite rarely now.?

Regards,
TitaniumOxide

Like others here, shyness has impacted me in obtaining a potential girlfriend. Back in my junior and senior year of high school, there was this girl that I was positive that liked me. Almost every time I was within 5 feet of her, she would look and gaze at me with a slight smile or gaze. Problem was, I never really initiated talking to her. The girl was taller than me, had brown eyes, and of the same ethnic background.

Looking back on it, I probably would've had a girlfriend if I'd taken a chance and said "Hi" to her. I didn't, and although it's not a huge, life-changing regret, I probably would've experienced what it was like to love and be in a relationship, since I've never been in love before (I'm still single, by the way).

Building on this, I also don't regret being shy either. There are a lot of things that I acknowledge that would've been different if I did something, but most of the time I'm like, "Eh, whatever". Life goes on somehow.

Luckily, I decided to go away to college and live on a college campus. With graduation around the corner for me, I'd say I've become more social, but I still hold on to some qualities of a quiet, introverted individual.

Like I said though, life goes on.