It's interesting reading all of these honest comments, especially by the posters who may still be in.
For myself, FS was a given because my mom got baptized when I was 1 year old. However, as a child, I never enjoyed it. Like many other posters, I hoped each door was a not-at-home, and got a sickening knot in my stomach when I had to talk, even though most people were polite enough to a little kid. I got a reprieve at age 10 when my mom got DF for smoking, so I didn't do much. From time to time a brother in the congregation would start a study with me (I didn't have a dad), but these would last only a couple of studies and fizzle out. Then at age 17 I started studying again in earnest, and went back to FS, which I still didn't like. Anyway, after my own baptism (and dropping out of college...grr ) I started pioneering. I convinced myself that I was actually trying to help people, but only ever felt comfortable when I'd get a (rare) friendly response at the door. Otherwise, I was a clockwatcher trying to get my pioneer hours in.
I eventually discovered the pioneer tricks, such as long breaks, and that made it a bit more palatable. I pioneered for only a year. In the last two months of that service year I came up with some fanciful ways of making the hours, including handwriting letters v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y. I'd write one sentence, take a 'little TV break', then write another sentence, and so on. I got my 1000 hours in for the year that way. The last few years I was in I hated FS so much that I'd always try to get with a "rural car group" which meant lots of driving with little actual people contact.
In the 25+ years that I was actually associated with the JWs, I had only 6 bible studies, 3 of these were given to me by others, and 3 were with my own kids. I NEVER started one from the door-to-door work. I guess my disinterest showed itself there .
