Strange (Symbolic) Space

Today I am going to address something that has been a constant in my life for at least the past decade. I have had no friend or confidante for the past decade. All my decisions usually involve my own thoughts. I am so used to this at this point in my life that I consider it an issue only when I witness other people. However, I am pretty sure that I am not the only one of my kind. There are people in conditions or professions for whom social life gets paved in a way that close relationships become less possible or are mere luxuries. The flip side of the social world is how it can also be hellish which is why I do not consider my circumstance as entirely unfortunate. If anything, I have been able to learn more about people by being an outsider than would have been possible by being amongst them in a comfortable way.

People connect based on what you symbolize. When you symbolize comfort, social connections, and a promise of expected response, you have friends. When you signal that you will become a bit like people around you, it tends to help. However, if you do not quite understand or agree with what people around you are trying to become, you tend to do what you do best. It is what I learned and found to be true.

What surprised me the most is how not having friends is not the end of the world. In the peculiar space of social rejection or many acquaintances and no close friends, there is one open option — to turn around and open your eyes to a new direction of endless possibilities. As time and contexts pass, there is always a strong possibility of finding someone as strange as you.