We want to be a part of something, but we need it to be real—not conditional or fake or constantly up for negotiation

Numerous studies confirm that it’s not the quantity of friends but the quality of a few relationships15 that actually matters

They did, however, commit to assessing their lives and forming their opinions of people based on their actual, in-person experiences

is not up to my standards of political correctness

You will always belong anywhere you show up as yourself and talk about yourself and your work in a real way

I learned how to say the right thing or show up in the right way. I became an expert fitter-in, a chameleon. And a very lonely stranger to myself.

Second, the need to fit in and the ache of not belonging was one of the most painful threads in my own life

It’s okay if I’m alone on this. That’s not what I believe

Ideological bunkers protect us from everything except loneliness and disconnection