u/SoftNorth17

Hey everyone,

I just turned 18 today and thought I’d make my first post here 🙂

I’m pretty introverted and usually on the quiet side, but I like the idea of meeting new people and having random conversations with others online. I’ve always found it easier to talk that way compared to real life.

Today’s been a pretty chill day for me — nothing special, just reflecting a bit and realizing I don’t really talk to new people much, so I wanted to change that a little.

So I guess I’ll ask a simple question to start:

What’s something small that made your day better recently?

Would love to hear from anyone who wants to chat.

Thanks for reading 🙂

Hi everyone,

I’m 17, and I’ve noticed that I tend to be more attracted to older, emotionally mature women than girls my age.

At school, I’ve had experiences with bullying and a lot of immaturity around me (disrespectful behavior, personal comments, etc.), which has made it difficult for me to feel comfortable or connected with people my age. I’m also quite introverted, so I don’t have a large social circle.

What I find myself wanting in a relationship is emotional maturity: someone who is calm, kind, understanding, and makes me feel safe and respected. Someone who listens and genuinely cares, and who I can also care about in return.

I’ve never been in a relationship or experienced feeling emotionally safe or loved in that way, and I think that may be influencing how I feel.

I understand that at 17, a relationship with an older woman is not appropriate, and I’m not looking for that. I’m mainly trying to understand these feelings and whether other people have experienced something similar at a younger age.

Is this a common experience, and how do people usually deal with these feelings until they’re older?

TL;DR: I (17M) feel more attracted to older, emotionally mature women because I struggle with bullying and connecting with peers. Is this normal, and how do I deal with it?

I’ve had the same dream for about 3 years now, and honestly it’s starting to affect me emotionally.

The dream changes sometimes, but there’s always the same character in it. Every night in the dream, I wake up in this small cozy house. It’s snowy outside, really quiet, and peaceful in a weird way. Then I see this little fat penguin.

It probably sounds stupid, but that penguin always shows so much affection toward me. Every single time.

I just woke up from the dream again today and actually cried in real life. The weird thing is that I’m usually a very quiet and gentle person. I almost never cry in front of people, even during serious situations.

I honestly think the penguin is me.

Its personality feels exactly like mine: introverted, emotional over small things, quiet around girls, awkward socially, and lonely most of the time. I’ve also been physically bullied before and mentally too sometimes.

I never really talk about this stuff with my family because they usually say I’m “faking emotions” or overreacting.

There’s also one word that completely destroys me emotionally: “loser.” Whenever I hear it, it genuinely hurts and sometimes I silently cry without making any sound.

Sometimes I also get moments where I feel overwhelmed in my head, like my thoughts are corrupting me or something. I’ll randomly feel angry and scared at the same time and start yelling at the ceiling when I’m alone. Other times I just freeze completely and stare blankly for a while.

I’m 17 by the way.

I don’t really know why I’m posting this. Maybe I just wanted to finally say it somewhere.

Kinda nervous posting this honestly, I’m pretty shy about this stuff (。・ω・。)

I’ve had the same dream for about 3 years now, and honestly it’s starting to affect me emotionally.

The dream changes sometimes, but there’s always the same character in it. Every night in the dream, I wake up in this small cozy house. It’s snowy outside, really quiet, and peaceful in a weird way. Then I see this little fat penguin.

It probably sounds stupid, but that penguin always shows so much affection toward me. Every single time.

I just woke up from the dream again today and actually cried in real life. The weird thing is that I’m usually a very quiet and gentle person. I almost never cry in front of people, even during serious situations.

I honestly think the penguin is me.

Its personality feels exactly like mine: introverted, emotional over small things, quiet around girls, awkward socially, and lonely most of the time. I’ve also been physically bullied before and mentally too sometimes.

I never really talk about this stuff with my family because they usually say I’m “faking emotions” or overreacting.

There’s also one word that completely destroys me emotionally: “loser.” Whenever I hear it, it genuinely hurts and sometimes I silently cry without making any sound.

Sometimes I also get moments where I feel overwhelmed in my head, like my thoughts are corrupting me or something. I’ll randomly feel angry and scared at the same time and start yelling at the ceiling when I’m alone. Other times I just freeze completely and stare blankly for a while.

I’m 17 by the way.

I don’t really know why I’m posting this. Maybe I just wanted to finally say it somewhere.

Kinda nervous posting this honestly, I’m pretty shy about this stuff (。・ω・。)

I’ve had the same dream for about 3 years now, and honestly it’s starting to affect me emotionally.

The dream changes sometimes, but there’s always the same character in it. Every night in the dream, I wake up in this small cozy house. It’s snowy outside, really quiet, and peaceful in a weird way. Then I see this little fat penguin.

It probably sounds stupid, but that penguin always shows so much affection toward me. Every single time.

I just woke up from the dream again today and actually cried in real life. The weird thing is that I’m usually a very quiet and gentle person. I almost never cry in front of people, even during serious situations.

I honestly think the penguin is me.

Its personality feels exactly like mine: introverted, emotional over small things, quiet around girls, awkward socially, and lonely most of the time. I’ve also been physically bullied before and mentally too sometimes.

I never really talk about this stuff with my family because they usually say I’m “faking emotions” or overreacting.

There’s also one word that completely destroys me emotionally: “loser.” Whenever I hear it, it genuinely hurts and sometimes I silently cry without making any sound.

Sometimes I also get moments where I feel overwhelmed in my head, like my thoughts are corrupting me or something. I’ll randomly feel angry and scared at the same time and start yelling at the ceiling when I’m alone. Other times I just freeze completely and stare blankly for a while.

I’m 17 by the way.

I don’t really know why I’m posting this. Maybe I just wanted to finally say it somewhere.

Kinda nervous posting this honestly, I’m pretty shy about this stuff (。・ω・。)