“I'm not sure how to start but, I don't have really lifelong friends. Or a better way to put it would be childhood friends. I never had one of those groups growing up. Always felt a little odd but didn't bother me much as a child. As a teenager, especially as the world shut down I realised just how lonely I was. Since then I've made some lovely friends. But it still feels like I'm behind others and I'll never catch up. I don't have any male friends either and I wonder why I think that is important in any shape or form. I know everyone says that you haven't even met all the people you'll love when you're young, you don't know what the future holds, but it still worries me. What if that isn't true? It sucks to see others have what you want so badly. But no matter what the future holds I'll always carry the grief of no childhood friends. I will simply never have that. And I have to accept it. It feels like people are moving onto other things, while I'm still stuck here, trying to make friendships work and figure it out.”