Have I tried hard enough for her?

John says:
So... since I don't kind of want to talk with my parents about this, I came here.
 
It's this girl I have a crush on since I was at a national math Olympiad with her and I just don't know if I tried hard enough to show her how I am feeling. I think we match each other quite a lot due to the fact that both of us like math and we both are quiet and shy with people we don't know very well as I've seen.
Now comes the problem: I have tried to be kind and funny and to have an interest in what she likes or not (basically that is just me in most cases) but i don't know if I did good in certain situations. Sometimes I am too shy to express my feelings. At the same time I am the awkward penguin i.e. I am very geeky and not so sociable (lack of discussion topics mainly).

E.g: Two days ago we and other colleagues were at a contest at a foreign city. Surprisingly we were offered a flower for the prize we have taken plus other material prizes (I never saw that before). I said to myself "go for it" and I gave that flower to her. She seemed happy with that... but then again I don't know very much about people.

As a final detail: she is 18, being 2 years older than me and she will go to study in another country; we have chatted on facebook and she used :* a few times (I know, I know, I am really awkward for not knowing what that even means).

To sum it up, it has been a lot of thinking and feeling weird in writing this question so please don't make too much fun of me. 

The odds are stacked against you on this one. At my age, two years difference is nothing, but the gulf between 16 and 18 is like the Grand Canyon. She is legally an adult and you are not. However it's not completely impossible - if you have bucket-loads of courage, never give up and are prepared to do whatever it takes, you may win her. Declare your, love, ask her out and take it from there.

I wouldn't put any money on this crush becoming anything more than that, unless you are even more determined than you are intelligent, and this not a quality often found in even bright teens. Sorry guy, but I'm telling you how it is.