“Go talk to them, go have fun!” “You know they’re having fun, go with them!”
These phrases slowly morph into something else. That little voice in the back of my mind saying,
“They’re having fun without you.” “They don’t want you here.” “You’ll just make things awkward.”
So I stay in my solitary corner, watching. Wishing I could be like them. Then–rarely, I admit—someone turns and beckons me over. They know what it’s like. That corner of the room, the back of my mind. Dark. Lonely.
They come to me, and suddenly the lights work again. They show me how to live again. Hold on to that person. Those people are your way back, your way to join the world again. Thank you to the people who have been there for me. Maybe this will inspire others to be that person for someone else.