I am 34 and have been very successful in life – married, kids, great career, etc. With one big exception: I have zero friends. I’ve never been popular, and once college was done, I never have a chance to meet anyone new. I have my coworkers, but they are mostly old women. Not people I would want to hang around with and play video games like I did with my few friends in high school.
Every two weeks, my wife has a “girl’s night” where she hangs out with her friends. Actual friends, not just coworkers. People she’s known since grammar school. I moved across the country at 18, so none of my school friends are anywhere near me anymore. I get so jealous of her and her social life…
I don’t see how a person in my position is supposed to make a new friend. If I’m not working, I’m taking care of my children. Once they’re asleep, my wife gets whatever little time I have left.
The strange thing is, too, that I still consider people I knew in high school – people I haven’t spoken to since 1998 – as my “friends”. The fun times I had back then seem closer to me and make me happier than almost any memories since. I feel like some of my old friends could just walk through my door at any time, and we could just relax and have fun, like the last 16 years were all just a dream.
So, a warning to all of you teenagers on this site – enjoy this time in your life! And stay connected with your close friends! Don’t end up middle-aged and friendless like me.
