For People Who Don’t Feel Like They Belong

And why it can be a blessing in disguise

It is a strange feeling to exist in a place where you don’t feel like you belong there. Especially when that place is somewhere you have to go regularly, such as school or a workplace, it is even harder to deal with this constant sense of feeling like an outcast.

Throughout my teenage years, I always felt like a stranger.

Even the places where I should be the most familiar gave me the cold isolating feeling of not belonging. I felt alone in my interests and my dreams, and eventually in who I was.

With time, I got used to living with this sensation, yet was not fully okay with it.

So this resulted in me going deeper into my inner world and finding a place where I felt safe to be who I am.

But then I started to step into the adult world and noticed that everyone was overdosing with the sense of familiarity, and people were looking for things to make them different than the crowd.

With this, I was able to see beyond fearing the acceptance of my interests, and it resulted in me treasuring these things that gave me so much joy, and lit up my heart. This also made me realize that connection with others was not dependent on having similar interests, or dreams, it was only two people sharing the lives they lead.

With this, I was able to embody my inner world, in the external world more openly, and without fearing if I would feel alone who I was.

I was able to see that these things that made me different were actually the things that enriched my existence, and I didn’t need to pass a similarity test to find belonging in places, or people.

So if you are one of those people who don’t feel like you belong, know that it is a blessing in disguise to be different, and not a burden to hold you down.

When all is said and done, the only acceptance you need is yours.

Thank you for reading.

-E.K.