I feel extremely awkward and out of place around my boyfriend's family?

[barclay76]

My boyfriend and I have been together for a long time now. We can be complete opposites but when were together we get along great. But there's a problem....his family is also complete opposites of me too. I am quite shy and reserved, and they, well they are very loud and spontaneous and sometimes a little too much for me.

When ever I am around them I am out of my comfort zone. And not neccessarly because they are loud but that no one even bothers to talk to me. The only one that tries to make conversation with me is his grandma and sometimes his mom. He has a ton of close family members. And his sister-in-law, who is not known to be a nice woman, I swear loaths me because my boyfriend spends more time with me than her and her duaghter.

It's getting so bad that I fear when they have another family thing. Everytime I go my heart pounds and I get shakey because I know I will end up by myself while everyone else is raving over a new baby or something. I know that the minute I walk through the door the only welcomes I get will be from my boyfriend and his mother.

So my question is, what do I do? I've tried to "involve" myself but in the end I'm always the outcast and the one who no one even bothers to notice, as you can tell, my shyness keeps me from having outstanding talking skills. I refuse to be loud and crazy like them because sometimes it annoys me. Is it bad that I feel this way around his family? Will it stop from my boyfriend and I from being together? I feel like I'll never get used to them to the point where I could call them family.

Especially because at the last get together, they were taking a family photo. They asked his sister's boyfriend to be in it. And when I thought they were going to ask me, they instead they asked me to take the photo...what a way to feel unwanted.

I love my boyfriend to death, and even though he knows I feel awkward, he says nothing could tear him apart from me, he loved me for who I am. And I believe him. And when I brought up my concerns his exact words were...they all like you, well except for my sister-in-law but she's just jealous.

So what do I do? Do I continue to force myself to go to every family thing and feel out of place and try to sit there and look pleasant? Or do I just let my boyfriend go without me most of the time? HELP!