Never Had a Relationship

I'm a twenty-one year-old male, and have never had a relationship outside of close personal friends and family. I realize that being "shy" isn't something terrible uncommon, but it's come to the point where I would like some companionship in my life. (Not to mention some sex, but that isn't my main objective.). I know that I must sound like a whining teenager, but when it comes to a girl that I'm interested in as more then just a friend, I fear rejection so much that I simply don't let my feelings be known to the person of interest. In the past, I've simply dismissed my problem as me not having enough courage to remedy my situation, but recently I'm starting to wonder if it could be something more. Basically my question is this: Is there a reason for this, or am I just a weak-minded person? (The only past trauma I can think of is my Dad dying when I was 15. I was very attached to him, but my problem existed before that point. Although I wasn't concerned about it until now. If it is relevant, my Father had a massive heart attack when I was between seven and eight years old, and died years later from complications of heart disease.)

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