Loneliness is not the same as being alone. My first taste of gut-wrenching loneliness was when I was 13. I was a little lonely before, but then we moved. That

Loneliness is not the same as being alone. My first taste of gut-wrenching loneliness was when I was 13. I was a little lonely before, but then we moved. That wasn't the issue. Some girls decided I was lesbian. Now, them being half correct is besides the point (I'm bisexual at 40 years old). The entire freaking school stopped talking to me. It eased up a bit next year since there were some new faces in high school, but I struggled for years and years. I struggled with loneliness, in part because I never actually felt like I could just be myself. The midwest, especially in small to medium sized towns, is full of social pressure to conform - in this case, it was usually conformation to the traditional family setup with ties to some christian sect. I could sometimes find small groups of friends that simply accepted me, but sometimes not. 5 years ago I moved to Norway. I knew exactly one person. But I'm also not lonely. This is a place known for being difficult to meet people and make friends, but I've honestly been happier. I have two or three friends, and find that society mostly doesn't care about me conforming as much. Sure, I'm not accepted by everyone, but society itself is set up to try to be inclusive instead of tossing aside folks that do not fit in. It was a real life-changer.