I think having bipolar has made me a more compassionate person. I've never totally "fit in" anywhere, even long before I was diagnosed, and I tend to gather other people who for whatever reason find themselves on the outskirts of society. Even in high school, where I actually had a large cohort of misfits as friends and we formed our own group, just like the jocks, the stoners, the brains and so on. I had no idea then about the BP, wasn't even diagnosed till I was 53. But looking back, it explains a lot about the way my life has gone.