I thought this was fitting to post here.

Have you ever had imaginary friends growing up? Do you feel comfortable sharing who or what they were and what they were like?

I had lots of imaginary friends growing up. My biggest imaginary friend was a stuffed animal monkey Sam that my brother and I played with...and he survived a wildfire and a house fire, so he is very, very special to me.

I had imaginary friends in high school, too. I was mentally unstable and had gone through major trauma, on top of being a loner, so I believe it was my way of processing those experiences.

Those imaginary friends from high school came back after I suffered a major blow from an abusive, narcissitic teacher. They help me process these feelings and trauma, and although it's uncommon for someone my age to have imaginary friends, I'd say it's normal for what I've gone through, and I just tell people "I'm a writer, and these are my characters".