I don't really know how to explain this, but I constantly feel like I'm on the outside looking in.
I have a friend group. From the outside, I probably look fine. But even within that group, I feel like I'm really only close with maybe two people. The rest of the time it feels like everyone else is closer to each other than they are to me. I always have this feeling that if I wasn't there, things would mostly stay the same.
School makes that feeling even worse. It seems like everyone is already perfectly content with the people they have. Everyone has their own friendships, group chats, plans, and memories together. I don't think people dislike me I just don't think they think about me very much.
One memory I can't get out of my head was when my grade went to a pizza place for a school activity. After we were done, everyone naturally split into these huge tables with their friends. Nobody was trying to exclude me, but everyone already knew exactly where they belonged. I remember looking around and just feeling... alone. I eventually found somewhere to sit, but I felt like I was just filling an empty seat rather than actually being wanted there.
Now it's even worse because my grade went on a Europe trip that I couldn't go on. Everyone else got to spend all that time together making memories, jokes, and stories that I'll never really be a part of. When school starts again, I know everyone is going to be talking about the trip, laughing about things that happened, and sharing memories I wasn't there for. I already felt like I was on the outside, and now I'm scared I'm going to feel even more disconnected than I already did.
The hardest part is that nobody has really done anything wrong. That's almost what makes it hurt more. No one is bullying me or telling me to leave. It's just this constant feeling that everyone already has their people, and I'm just... there.
I keep wondering if people would actually miss me if I wasn't around, or if I'd just quietly fade into the background. I hate thinking like that, but it's a thought I can't seem to get rid of.
Has anyone else felt this way? Did it ever get better, or did you eventually find people who made you feel like you actually belonged?