I am an only child and we lived in the industrial part of town above my father’s garage (he was a car mechanic), I think the nearest kids were at least a mile away and due to how dangerous the neighborhood was, no children were allowed to come over and I was an outsider. I was bullied, mildly and infrequently. Mostly, I just never belonged in any friend group.

I managed to entertain myself and was a quiet kid that didn’t complain so my parents let me be and didn’t sign me up for any activities or push me to make friends. But started showing symptoms of depression at age 9 and have had severe struggles over the years.

To this day I have no real life friends and have nor been able to maintain any romantic relations.

I really wonder how much was my isolated upbringing.