A strangley isolated place

"The more we listen to those who experiences and perspectives are unfamiliar, the more we realize what draws us together" I think he means that when we listen to the stories of other's experiences we can relate them to our own stories and can realize how similar our journeys are.
For putting myself into a place where I have to participate with people with views and lives very different than my own, the most recent would be this SLICE class. I myself live a very different and somewhat nontraditional life, but I am very fortunate of my upbringing by my parents. I was raised having very independent and very open-minded views. I was also raised in very educational environment. So being who I am and what I think from what I have experienced and what I enjoy in life seems to be, by no understatement, tremendously different from anyone else in the class. I feel sort of out of place, in a way. I like the people in the class and all, but I still feel misunderstood. I always do in public crowds as so. I see reactions of people when I'm just casually talking and making a joke, but it seems like (to me) that my views and humor are a bit unique compared to most. At times I feel like people need to chill out and lighten up. I get uncomfortable when I am relaxed and other people seem tense or uneasy. I try to make others comfortable by showing them that I am relaxed and at ease, but it does not always seem to work out, but whose to expect it to work on everyone?
My father told me one of his fears is being in a room full of people he does not know; but to me I like being anonymous in a room, blending in with the crowd to observe all the others. But when it's crowds like these where there's group interaction, it's pleasing to meet new people and hear and see their views and ideas. I like to hear how others have lived and managed through their lives so far and compare that to my own story.