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Where I Thought I'd Be

I don’t think I’m where I’m supposed to be in life.

It hits harder some days, especially when I see people I grew up with getting married, having kids, buying homes. Yeah, I know social media can be fake, and people only show the best parts… but still, it feels like they’re all moving forward. They’ve got roots, plans, people. And me? I feel stuck. Like I’ve missed some exit in life and now I don’t even know how to turn around.

Sometimes I catch myself wondering, if I had a different childhood, if I didn’t grow up with all that pain, would I be different now? Happier? In love? More stable? I only really know heartbreak, trauma, and disappointment. I don’t have many good memories to fall back on. Just a lot of surviving. A lot of pretending I’m okay.

Growing up, I never fit in. I always felt like an outsider. I still do. That feeling never really left. If anything, it just grew quieter and heavier.

And the older I get, the lonelier it feels.
Not just in the “I don’t have people” way, but in that deep, hard-to-explain kind of lonely. Like the kind where you’re in a room full of people but still feel invisible. Where no one sees you. No one gets it.
And when you speak, no one’s listening.
Most of the time, I feel like no one ever truly hears me out. Just brushed off, like my words never mattered much to begin with. So I stay quiet.

I used to tell myself, next year will be better.
Now I’m just trying to make it through the day without falling apart. I keep praying, hoping, holding on… but it’s getting harder to believe in things I can’t feel anymore.

This isn’t a cry for help. It’s just me being honest.
If nothing else, maybe writing this helps me get through tonight.
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MarkPaul · 26-30, M
This seems to be a common background for most people here. I have read the same rendition of this theme, just expressed differently. It seems this is the congregating corral for those of us who have this common life experience. Sadly, this communal experience doesn't lighten the load, shift the burden, or create a softer landing. Yet, there is some perverted satisfaction in recognizing others are experiencing what often seems is reserved for only one.