I was always shy too. As a rather tall kid, I have always stood out of the pack and drawn attention to myself. The last thing an only child wanted. So I withdrew and just became what people would call a "nerd". It wasn't until I joined the Marine Corps and met some VERY outrageous personalities did I "find myself".
Looking back from where I am now, I'm not particularly happy with what I found, but that's another story.
Just give it time, when you find out what YOU want, you'll be more prepared to make yourself happy. Cause the last thing you want to do is get with someone you think you like, when you don't know yourself yet. Then you just have hurt feelings on both sides when the "true" you comes out.