Belonging?

I’ve always struggled to relate to my peers, especially when they come in groups. I’m no longer bullied like I was as a child. Most people at least attempt to be nice to me. However, many of my peers aren’t sure how to relate to me either. It is easy with someone who is socially awkward to make the mistake of talking to them like they’re a younger child or to simply give one-word responses to their contributions to conversation.

I am not alone in the world. I have as much of a social life as I’d like to have. I have a close family who remain my best friends, and a few very special friends outside of my family, one of whom lives in my city. The rest I keep in touch with through a combination of instant messaging on facebook, phone, and email.

I may not want to party every weekend, join in the gossip, or make friends with everyone I meet. However, it would be nice if more people took an interest in me as a person. It would be as simple as things such as being asked about my weekend, or listening if I told a story about the flood in our basement last week or acknowledging my comment on the approaching thunderstorm.

I am not a typical person in my interests. I do fit in well among my graduate classmates I have met so far. This is probably because I have more in common with these people and it takes common interest for any kind of friendship to develop. Even if I never do super well with acquaintances, it is the special friendships that matter and I have no problem with those.