I’m an introverted person (22) that’s been in a pretty isolated situation for 3 years, and my instincts have been heightened because of it. I realized that I don’t value friendships anywhere near my family relationships. I’m not sure whether it’s because of this recent stint of insolation (transferred & commuted to college for 3 years) that’s caused this extreme viewpoint or whether it’s my natural thought processes kicking in. Now, I’ve always been an independent person that’s content with being fairly introverted, but never to the extent I’m currently in. I’ve always had various friend groups & such that I’ve kept fairly close, but I was never the person to go too deep into friendships... I never hung-out all day everyday with people, went on trips with people, formed crazy memories with people... it was always a surface-level kinda thing. I cared about these people, but I was always able to get over them if I moved into a different environment & formed new friendships.

I’m both hopeful & nervous for the future because I know when I go to grad school, & thus get away from being isolated at my home, I’ll be able to form new friendships that I can explore more freely. However, the looming thoughts in my subconscious about never really having had many deep-connections to people kinda scares me.

Just thought I’d share my story. I’ve learned a lot about myself these last 3 years, & have had many downs about my situation. However, the knowledge I’ve gained & recent realizations I’ve discovered leaves me optimistic & thankful I went through it. I’m a lone wolf, an endless wonderer, but also a caring person at the end of the day✌🏻