Hang in there, FallDuskTrain.

I found this quote online which I think sums up the two sides of loneliness well:

"Loneliness expresses the pain of being alone, and solitude expresses the glory of being alone."

If you spend too much time on one side, you lose your balance.

Don't lose your balance.

Your uniqueness makes you special, but it can also make you feel lonely. When we don't share our true selves with others -- for whatever reason -- we create a loneliness that we don't deserve. That's the hard part about life, at least for me it can be sometimes. To be vulnerable with someone is THE scariest thing sometimes, because like the poem I quoted states, people either contract or expand. And it can be disappointing to find out someone contracts rather than expands, after we share our true selves. But that person wasn't the right person, otherwise they'd expand and a beautiful connection is formed that is healthy and beneficial to both people.