Hey Entity, thanks for responding. Thanks for sharing your experience. I can relate to where you said it's hard to penetrate that close-knit circle of friends who have been friends for a long time. It does seem like that to me too!

College for me was hard because that was where my MI was really bad. I had no idea how to handle it and I had social anxiety big time as well as deep depression. I didn't really know how to make friends, either. That may sound weird but its true. and I was focused on the wrong type of friends for me, in the beginning. They were more outgoing. They were also not very nice and critical of me. I really........I don't know if it's so important for one to blame themselves or even explain themselves for why they don't have close friends as an adult. I do wonder if it might be more of a common thing, than we might think. For instance, I do have one close friend who is an internet pal, who I adore, and she adores me. She told me she doesn't have many friends either. But doesn't see it as a bad or weird thing. Just a fact of life. It made me feel more normal. She is such an awesome person. And I thought "well, maybe its ok then." Also someone once wrote a book on this subject (of how difficult it is to find friends as an adult). She had moved...relocated for her job..., and I read some of it, and again, I felt more normal. I will try to see if I can find it and post the link.

Your theater group sounds really great, despite the fact that it dispersed after the classes ended.

I do think being an introverted myself, it is a challenge to push myself to do social stuff when all I want to do is hang out at home, in my Starrysky cave.

I'm just moving along with this. I have many different emotions about it (sometimes not even focused at all on it, but when I am...) ranging from indifference (sometimes I do like to be solitary), to deep loneliness and frustration and panic, to hope and feeling encouraged, and then also there are times I'm more satisfied.