u/JellyfishPashmina

Most people say they feel SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) during the fall and winter, but I get it really badly in the spring and summer. Like, cripplingly so. It triggers a lot of feelings for me that the weather is getting nicer and therefore it’s time to be social. Except when you have no one to be social with and actually enjoy the summer days, it feels like one hot reminder that you’re a giant failure. My social anxiety and depression completely flare up at times like this (especially the weekends, holidays, long weekends, etc.) when I’m reminded just how much it’s destroyed my life.

Even when I was a kid, summer was always an anxious time for me because I had no one to hang out or go to the beach with. I grew up and live in a very touristy area on the coast, and it’s extremely depressing and hurtful to see people enjoying my home more than I’ve ever been able to. Not to mention, when you’re a full-time working adult, it’s just so damn hot and humid all the time, and when the sun stays up until 9pm, you feel guilty that you’ve never been able to build a life for yourself to enjoy dinners out, sunsets at the beach with friends, summer weddings, summer romances, bbqs, pool parties, etc. I also never got to “go out on a friend’s boat” or “go swimming at a friend’s house,” even though many people around had plenty of them and everyone else I knew got to do those things, my sibling included. Basically, I never got to enjoy those amazing summers every other teen did but me, without a care in the world and nothing to do but see your boyfriend and friends—that just didn’t exist in my world, and now kids today are getting to form those memories I never got.

And worst is I absolutely love swimming, being around the water, putt putt and ice cream, drive-in theaters, volleyball, tennis, lying out in the sun, boating, trips—all the classic summer activities, and I don’t get to do any of it. I literally feel like I’m locked in some social prison where I’m not allowed to enjoy my life when everyone else is out and about with family and friends.

This is just a horrible half of the year for me and I’m feeling really triggered by the thought of all the upcoming fun others get to enjoy that I never have.

Meaning if you own your own business and want to do an intro of yourself and projects you’ve worked on in relation to what they do and see if they’re interested in working together, as well as providing your contact info / website? Basically just offering your services over direct messaging after they’ve accepted your invite, but leaving them alone if they never respond? (If each message is individual to each person and not one giant spam or auto message.)

That’s it. That’s all I wanted. Just a good, kind, honest, loving, caring partner to build a life with. Ever since I was a little girl, all I ever dreamed of was finding a guy who was my best friend and getting to play house together. Not even a giant house, just an apartment. Didn’t even have to be a mortgage, rental is fine. The idea of getting to live together just the two of us for a while—getting to go out and explore the world together and come back to OUR place—sounded, and still sounds, so sweet and happy. At 32, I’ve not only not gotten to experience that (what people today would call the DINK life), I can’t even afford to settle for the life I don’t want, the single life.

There are so many benefits to a life where this happens, and disadvantages to one where it doesn’t: The average 1-bedroom around me is $3,000. The average 2-bedroom is $3,200. So for one person, the single’s tax is $1,400. If there are 2 of you, can you split a 2-bedroom for $1,600 each. I can do $1,600. I can’t do $3,200. Not to mention, I can’t “just move,” that’s not an option for everyone and my family is here. And there’s nowhere I could go to afford a place for myself except middle U.S., that’s how bad our economy is right now.)

I’m not in it for the finances, although no one can lie and say it doesn’t make life affordable, but I’m in it for the life and person it comes with. Every single decision when you’re in a happy, committed relationship is infinitely better than being single. When you’re coupled, you get to shop for a place together and make it a home. When you’re single, you’re shopping for a money-suck to put all your stuff in. When you’re coupled, you can bounce ideas off one another in the decision-making process. When you’re single, sole responsibility to figure out every little thing falls on you. When you’re coupled, you get to enjoy the space together, cook meals, watch movies snuggled under a blanket—just basically live the life we want, together. When you’re single, it’s just a monolith of four walls with nothing but silence or the TV playing. When you’re coupled, you have enough money for a guest room / office. When you’re single, it’s just you and one bedroom or a studio and nowhere to host guests nor work. When you’re coupled, you get to split up the work, and also share the fun things like decorating. When you’re single, again, all effort to make your home feel homey and also maintain any damage is all on you. When you’re coupled, it’s quality time with your best friend in the whole world every single day, and it’s life by your joined rules. When you’re single, it’s choosing between being house-poor and feeling the financial pressure every waking day or a random roommate you don’t want in your space—especially in your 30s. When you’re coupled, you’re picking an area based on affordability (or perhaps even school districts for future kids), any by nature can pick a safer option. When you’re single, you’re stuck with less safe areas and still paying more than you can afford. When you’re coupled, you have stability and protection of knowing someone in the area (also physical/health safety—should you take a fall someone will come home and find you). If you’re single, you’re in it entirely along, even if you fall off a ladder. When you’re coupled, you have OPTIONS, you have JOY, you have QUALITY OF LIFE. When you’re single, you have FINANCIAL BURDEN, you have FEAR, you have SURVIVAL only. Basically, it’s the difference between domestic bliss and crippling loneliness.

I really, really, REALLY don’t get what single people are doing to survive in this economy. And I’m not just saying that to be dramatic. Like, TRULY I don’t know what I’ll do when my parents pass and I don’t have a place to afford rent, because every single solitary person I know who is even affording life right now is coupled.

How did it get this bad? How is this what life is like if you’re single. It shouldn’t take six-figures, it should have to take being an engineer, doctor, lawyer, or manager for people to have a dignity of life, especially when what I feel like I’m now forced to work toward—working my ass off 50+ hours a week to waste all of it on a place I don’t want, in a less safe area I still can’t afford, just to survive a life I don’t want, all alone—is just completely settling for Plan Z. To boot, I’m literally the only person I know in real life who’s going through this; they all had partners to make these giant life decisions with, which makes it all the more isolating. I feel like I have absolutely no agency over this, and life is just choosing for me. My dream life scenario of finding love and happiness is gone, and I’m backed into a corner, buckling under the pressure of the financial punishment that comes with being single in an economy designed for two.

I know it sounds petty, but no one (outside my parents) has ever gone even remotely out of their way to do anything nice for me at all. And then I see people who have friends, partners, loved ones who surprise them all the time, and it just absolutely tears me to shreds inside that people can even be bothered to reach out and say hi, let alone plan any sort of elaborate surprise purely to make me happy. And I say this because I am that person: I absolutely love surprising people. If they mention something special they want to do, I take it to heart and always try to go out of my way to make people feel surprised, loved, and appreciated. Problem is there, though, no one appreciates it.

I’m just so sick of sitting year after year, holiday after holiday, birthday after birthday, bachelorette trip after bachelorette trip seeing people spoil each other rotten with their time and care. And people have people who do things like this all the time just because, not even just for special events. It’s not financial at all, it’s the time, the thought, and the care from other people in your life making you feel like you matter rather than being a worthless POS.

This is just hitting me so hard lately to realize there are 20yos out there who get more love and affection than I’ve ever received in my 32 years.

Over time, I have developed stronger and stronger social anxiety. I didn’t used to be like this until people showed me my value, which was worthless. I’ve been in therapy for a long time trying to overcome my social anxiety, but my therapist (nor anyone else) doesn’t understand that I struggle with this because of the way people treat me. Socially, I’m always excluded, not even picked last just not picked, scapegoated, condescended to, looked down on, treated like shit, and disregarded by people who are otherwise good friends and nice to everyone else. You can only be half of the equation in connecting with others, you can’t force people to like you, so if people aren’t interested in me or there’s just something about me that they don’t like that I can’t control, there’s not much I can do, and it haunts me every day.

This just all makes me want to curl up in a ball. It’s effecting my mental, physical, and emotional health, and I feel like I’m damned if I do, damned if I don’t. It’s a lose-lose for me. If every interaction with other humans feels so painful and contentious and just whittles away at what self-confidence I have left, and there’s no joy to socializing whatsoever because in the end the reward isn’t positive but rather terrible treatment, then what’s to gain? The only way I feel any sort of relief from pain in this life is to just not interact with humans at all, and that’s even more devastating because I’m such an extrovert at heart; all I’ve ever wanted is a good group of friends and a nice partner and a career where I’m respected by my peers, and I can’t have any of it. I’ll always be on the outside looking in even if I’m in an arena full of people, so, might as well keep to the outside…

I’ve seen people use all of the same products I do throughout various tutorials, all different kinds of applicators, all different application methods/orders, etc.; and somehow, their makeup just always looks undeniably better. I’ve also seen people on social media make pharmacy makeup look better than any professional makeup I’ve ever owned. How much of this is down to the products you use, the way you apply them, or just overall having a pretty face that holds any makeup well?

I can’t help but feel like so much of makeup just comes down to natural attractiveness and being able to pull off any makeup, no matter the products nor application, because your natural features are already fine on their own. In my case, it’s a lot harder to try and whittle down a botched bust, or put lipstick on a pig, as they say. 😅

ETA: I should’ve mentioned, I tend to watch tutorials done in natural lighting, rather than the staged, over-lit, over-produced stuff. I prefer a more natural, low-maintenance look, so I’ll watch everyday routine tutorials that aren’t heavily photoshopped or anything, just someone at their bathroom mirror or whatnot. But even still, they just look so effortlessly chic and ready for the day by the time they’re done, and I look, well, not lol

I’m sure people here have talked this one to death when it happened, but I’m new here lol. I’m rewatching The Kardashians, and I know most people won’t agree with me, but think Kim was a total sleaze for stealing Kourtney’s rare opportunity to shine. Kim was petty and jealous and selfish and immediately needed to steal the spotlight back because she’s an attention vampire who cares for no one but herself and her “iconic” moments to desperately stay relevant—even if it means hurting her own family.

That being said, what D&G did was seedier IMO. Because we know Kim is always possible of stuff like this, but for D&G not to recognize the error of their ways must’ve really hurt Kourtney. You can tell Kourtney thought that this was entirely her friend doing a friend a great kindness for her special day, but I think for Domenico, maybe their relationship has always just been a business deal. I don’t think he agreed to do the wedding TO get to Kim, but he saw an opportunity at Kourtney’s wedding and absolutely capitalized on Kim’s current interested in D&G to get her to do the show. You could see in the talking heads interviews that Kourtney was actually really upset by that, and that it slightly altered her perception of the whole wedding affair. But because she’s in a lesser position of power compared to D&G, you can tell she was too upset to talk to Domenico about it, which means they’re really not as close friends as she portrayed or thought (going to stay with him during summers, etc., you’d think she could have a heart-to-heart with him but couldn’t).

I saw an analogy someone else said of imagine you had a close friendship with a wedding venue owner. They help you plan out your whole wedding, and your wedding becomes the promo photos for the venue. Then, 4 months later, you find out they’re replacing all of your photos with ones of your sister, who’s not getting married, just putting on a wedding dress and modeling at the venue. And this plan happened because the venue owner met your sister at your wedding, and they planned this for months behind your back. If you know your sister sucks, that’s one thing, but you’d really wonder why the wedding venue owner and your friend would do something like that to you.

Idk, it’s just my theory. And maybe my theory already is popular opinion lol, idk, but I think D&G was always in some way hoping to get to Kim through Kourtney, and seeing Kim interested in their brand at Kourtney’s wedding sparked an idea in their heads, and they prioritized business over friendship—or maybe the friendship was never really there on Domenico’s side, maybe it was just pleasantries.

My sister and I are estranged, for reasons connected to my NP mother’s favoritism of her and verbal/emotional abuse of me. My mom is extremely angry at me for it because she thinks it’s all my fault for breaking up the family, etc., when this has been a decade in the making. Meanwhile, I’m mad at her for not seeing how differently she treats the two of us. She makes no effort to hide that my sister is her favorite, treats her like an equal, and will always go out of her way to treat her well and do whatever she needs. On the other hand, I feel like I don’t have a mom at this point. I try to keep things cordial, and know that I’ve done all I can to be a good daughter to her, but she’s dismissed, criticized, condescended to, and just straight up ignored me for most of my adult life. I’m also the scapegoat for all the problems, including “you started it”—meaning she believes I caused the rift in our relationship from the time I was a child. Literally a young child.

Anyway, my parents planned a trip away for Mother’s Day because she was “too upset” to celebrate it. They said they were coming back a few days later than they actually are. I accidentally found out today that they’re actually flying back tomorrow night. I knew they were going to spend “one day” with my sister, but that means they’re actually going to spend four full days with them. My sister recently had her first baby, so it’s obvious to assume that they’re going to celebrate a belated Mother’s Day weekend all together. This is devastating to me that, despite separating myself due to the unfair treatment / cliqueyness of my mom and sister yet trying to maintain some sort of relationship with my mom, that’s she’s so repulsed to celebrate Mother’s Day with me that she’d rather lie that she’s not celebrating at all, go on a trip to get away from me, and then lie about when she’s coming back to celebrate for not just one day, but a full long weekend with my sibling and her family—then return home and pretend nothing really happened, all while I’m housesitting and petsitting for them as a favor for their trip.

My mom’s also actively created a hostile environment for any sort of serious conversation—she goes from zero to belligerently screaming in the matter of a single sentence (again, only with me, not with my sister)—so there’s no talking to her about this. I’m very close with my dad, but he’s very passive so he goes along with whatever my mom says, and he’s not very emotional so if I talk to him he’ll just shut down or blame me, too, because she’s conditioned him to believing I’m the full problem, even though she’s also verbally abused him for years.

I don’t know if anyone has been through anything remotely similar to this, but I basically just accidentally found out that this is happening and I’m so triggered by it. (I was also recently diagnosed with CPTSD, partly for this neglect and imbalanced dynamic in my familial relationships, so I’m trying to get better at recognizing when triggers are happening and reaching out for support). And I feel even more isolated because I feel like no one else has gone through stuff like this: my mom treats me lesser than my sibling, my sibling enables it, I reach a breaking point and separate myself, my mom blames me, further isolates me, as a result she and my sister get even closer, I feel all the more hurt and alone, I try to talk to her about it, it ends with her screaming and blaming me, and the cycle continues. Feeling left out / finding out about secrets like this were part of why I distanced myself from my sister and my mom, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt like hell. How do I deal with the pain of situations like this when all I’ve ever wanted was to be close with my family?

I’m not agoraphobic or anything like that, but I have just lost all will to associate with any people at all. Which sucks, because the other side of me for my whole life has so desperately wanted to form genuine human connections. But I’m just so burned out. I’m actually an extrovert at heart, but people have made me an introvert. The last 5 years, I have faced nothing but devastating betrayal from the people I’ve grown closest to. Even when I go out and run errands, it just seems like every stranger has such a bug up their ass. Even on social media and Reddit, everyone just seems like they’re looking to fight or tear one another down. I’m just so over it, and at 32, this worries me for the rest of my life, or my only option is to cut it short because my social situation isn’t going to change and I can’t live life so lonely anymore.

Part of the problem is I can just really see people for who they are: they’re selfish, they “don’t owe” anyone anything, they’re quick to judge, they lie to make themselves look better, they betray you without a care; and they only want to be your friend if you somehow give them status, you’re attractive, something about you makes them bow down to you, or they want something from you.

My dad used to tell me all the time growing up, “The older you get, the more you realize people suck.” And I never believed him, and in fact he’s a very likable person who had a lot of friends at my age but just chooses not to have friends. But he still says it, and now, I get it. Difference is, unlike him, I don’t feel I have the option to make friends, because no one shows interest in being mine, and are just rude or couldn’t care less 99.9% if the time, and I’m just so burnt out on trying. Seems like everyone’s got all their friends locked in, aren’t looking to be nice to anyone not in their circle, and I feel so ostracized at this point that I’m not going to dedicate all my free time trying to get people to see value in me.

People are just…such a letdown, and their intentions are always so clear when talking to them, that I just can’t stand having to be around them anymore. Which is obviously so painful, because the right people can make or break your life, and obviously in my case, it broke it.

I can’t find anyone like me. I just can’t. I’m a city girl at heart who also loves the ocean. I like to go to museums, cultural events, travel. I’ve made this all clear on my app bios and in person, and yet, every man I encounter couldn’t be more different: they’re covered in tats, they spend all their free time hiking and hunting. Even if they live in the city, pretty much the first thing they tell me is they hate living there. They hate travel, they don’t do museums, etc. On top of that, I’m don’t drink and I’m not into tattoos, but always encounter options with sleeves on both arms who drink every weekend and maybe even smoke cigarettes. I also live in an extremely liberal area, but as a liberal atheist, all I keep meeting are conservative, Trumpian Christians.

This happens on the apps and in person. And I just don’t understand why I can’t find my kind of person. I know the pot empties as you get older, but this has been happening for my entire 20s, too. I’m really at a point in my life where I’d rather be alone than be with the guy who just wants to sit around and “chill” all weekend, or spend all his time hiking, hunting, working on cars, whatever—but obviously that’s so painful and isolating to just choose to be alone because you don’t have another option. All the couples I know like to enjoy hobbies together, and that’s honestly what I see for myself, but the men I encounter are literally the opposite of me as a person, and they’re all over the place. Why does this keep happening, and why can’t I find at least a few men with shared interests, values, and goals as I have?

Please don’t say some unnecessary nonsense like, “If everyone’s the problem, you’re the problem.” I served my time pretending to be interested in whatever a guy was, only to not end up with an emotionally immature man anyways. I was very compromising and got very serious with a man who had different interests because he presented himself as a good man, up until the point of engagement, but was burned very badly in the end. So, I’m not ashamed at this age and point in my life to admit what I like, what my values are, and what I’m looking for in a partner. Problem is the dating landscape in my area, both in person and on the apps, just seems to be entirely full of the same type of men, even despite living near a big city, and their personalities are simply not my type. Moving is also not an option for me, at the moment, and again, it shouldn’t be so hard to find a man in a city who actually enjoys being in said city, but instead, I see bios that say, “You shouldn’t date me if you’re a girl who lives in a city without a car.”

I just…don’t understand. Anyone know what’s up with this? I don’t know where else to move to find a good man with shared interests if I’ve done what I can to be in an area to meet someone like that, including attending college in a large city, yet still only finding men who only like to “chill” or party and not actually enjoy the cultural sites and experiences said places have to offer. I’ve tried joining similar hobbies, etc., nothing works. And I just truly don’t understand how people found their perfect personality match at 21 and were just off to the races together. (Looking for a kind, caring, good man is obviously implied on top of personality and interests.)

14 years. That’s so hard to say (type) out loud. 14. I’ve been dreaming of getting married. 14 years of intentional dating, app swiping, dating “gurus,” humiliation after humiliation, failed relationships. I’ve exhausted my resources. Do you know how much people who DID find their one have accomplished in 14 years? Married, first homes, kids, second homes, career promotions (aided by each others’ support). A whole lifetime of memories together. 14 years later, my parents are rapidly aging, everyone’s onto their happily ever after, and here I am, stuck at the train platform, wondering how the fuck I had 14 whole years to find someone and couldn’t manage it when everyone else’s train came. 14 years of missed holidays, date nights, quiet evenings at home, wild memories from our 20s, growing up together, laughing. All missed in an infinite struggle to just find a decent, kind man. And the older I get, the more everyone pairs up, and the further the dream slips away. It feels literally impossible at this point. 14 years—what the hell could I possibly do now that would magically work anyway?

I’m just…devastated. Idk, this life…I can’t spend the rest of my life trying to find someone for my dream life to finally begin. I just don’t get the purpose of it all, of life, if you don’t find love.

No matter what I do, how many tutorials I watch, what products I buy, nothing ever looks good on me. For most of my life, I used to do a powder-based routine that was extremely simple with just foundation, mascara, and lip gloss, and that was about it. Sometimes, a fun eyeshadow or mascara color because it was the aughts. When I entered college, I developed adult acne (yay), and realized the brand I used forever had reformulated their product and it was worsening my breakouts. This was also around the time when all the heavy liquid products and bold eyeshadow palettes were highly popularized, so I tried switching. And I looked a mess, despite following all the steps properly. I reverted back to powder, and noticed just how much it was sticking to my facial hairs. I’m pretty low maintenance when it comes to my self-care routine, so I didn’t want the financial obligation of derma-planing my face, and now I’m at a stage where I’m older and starting to get fine lines, so powder isn’t an option, liquid’s far too dramatic for daytime (and looks insane on me), and tints and creams just…don’t look good.

I’ve tried everything and with anything more than the slightest whisper of a barely-there blush, I just always look like an overdone clown. If I ever try any kind of liquid blush that’s popular now, even just a miniscule dot, it immediately overpowers my entire face. Even the blondest possible brow pen makes my eyebrows stand out way too harshly, but a clear gel makes them look muddy mixed with the foundation, and my natural brows are too high contrast for my face when I’m going for a sultry, feminine look (I actually use the blond to lighten them). I know my shades are right and not too dark, but when the palest options for my coloring always turn to orange or pink or yellow on my oily skin, even with setting spray and all the right prep. I can pull off a bold lip, but I know that’s not really the style anymore, and again, not great for everyday.

It’s also the way makeup sits on my face. Again, I get all the right applicators, I moisturize, I promise, I make sure my products have the same kind of best, and it still flakes, or doesn’t blend like butter like you see others do. I try sponges, brushes, powder puffs, nothing helps to blend well or keep the build-up from showing. And it either all looks mushed together and you can’t even tell I used different products in different areas, or I get stubborn parts of my face where the makeup just won’t blend and creates harsh lines between blush and foundation, etc. Even just the tiniest possible amount of setting powder shows on my face and then gets stuck in my wrinkles, without eliminating any of the shine. And I’m sooo light-handed with everything too. I thought maybe I was being heavy-handed with my makeup, but if I do any less, it literally looks like I’m wearing nothing—and not in a good way, in a it literally looks like I didn’t put in any effort way—plus I see beauty influencers literally pouring globs of foundation on their face and it still turns out well (I know it probably wouldn’t look that great IRL, but the point is it still looks good, where I’d look like I was having a crisis).

It literally feels like my face just isn’t made for makeup. Like, my facial and genetic features go against everything makeup is designed to do, and just doesn’t carry it well and makes me look worse. But I don’t want to go natural all the time—I don’t love my natural features and want to be able to soften the ones I don’t like and to elevate the ones I do like. I’d love to find just a nice, elegant look that doesn’t require a lot of layers (I’m ASD with hyperhydrosis, so I actually hate the feeling of cream/liquid makeups on my skin), that makes me feel pretty, and that won’t seep into all my nooks and crannies nor oxidize six seconds after I put it on. I’d love to find multiple routines actually, but if daytime makeup looks harsh, imagine my struggle trying to find a nice, neutral, special-occasion look.

Anyone else just feel super ugly in makeup? I know not wearing it is an option, and I don’t most days for my skin’s sake, but I’m also a girly girl and love treating myself to a new beauty product now and again, and I’m just so discouraged and feel so ugly knowing nothing looks good. I’ve really been feeling like makeup is designed for women who are already attractive, and no amount of doing everything right is going to fix the fact that I’m not. And I’m not a trend-follower, but it would be nice to play around with some of the products and switch up my routine now and again, and my face doesn’t follow the trends like other conventionally attractive women can does. Plus, the problems makeup seeks to “resolve” don’t apply universally and not much can reduce the features I’m looking to minimize: I have a prominent but thin nose so contour doesn’t work, I have prominent cheekbones I actually want to hide while everyone else is trying to accentuate theirs, I have thin lips which can only be overdrawn so much, I have a cleft chin which everyone else is brightening, and I have hooded lids that don’t work for all the dramatic eye routines. Things like natural brows makes me look like a Neanderthal, contouring makes me look sickly and androgynous, a bold eye on my hooded looks makes me look vaudevillian, etc. And especially with all the bold, hyper-pigmented products out there now that absolutely do not work for me, I’m just feeling so discouraged trying to find my “holy grail” routine when no products or methods I’ve studied seem to work for me.

“We went to the grocery store,” “We have to drop off the dog at the vet in the morning,” “We love wine tastings.” At some point in your 30s, you realize everyone who’s in a relationship shares all their information as “we” and not “I,” and it honestly just…makes me feel like shit. At my age, it’s predominantly people saying “we” instead of “I,” like the verbal equivalent of a wedding ring. And it’s not just people you know; I pick up on strangers telling me stories like this like I’m just supposed to know who their spouse is, without them ever having said, “my spouse, (name), and I.” It’s like you’re just supposed to assume there’s a second entity attached to them, even if that person isn’t really helping performing the action—e.g. you didn’t both bring the dog to the vet, one of you did.

It’s like a weird language coupled people speak, but it makes me self conscious to just say “I” now. It’s like, “Uh-oh, they now know I’m single.” The second I start saying, “I’m going on a staycation this weekend,” I know their brains are short-circuiting and pity is entering the chat. Older parents list adult kids by couple, listing the single ones last, and singles get the couch on vacations. It’s like being an “I” makes you an isolated loser, the final thought, the last resort, the last player picked, because couples are a unit of two and therefore somehow entitled to more privilege than you? And you’re just some sad sack on your own. Poor you.

Can anyone else relate to this? Do you also feel like couples think they’re more special simply for the fact that they found someone and you didn’t / haven’t yet? Has anyone else ever been judged for this? Maybe I’m just surrounded by elitist a-holes, but you can literally see the pity in the eyes when they find out you’re single or the confused privilege on their faces when they aren’t given first priority above a single person.