I get so tired of the "get comfortable with yourself, you'll find your people one day" type of responses to people complaining about being lonely. I get this from older people in my life a LOT. I am very comfortable with myself. I have many hobbies. I stay busy. I go to public classes and talk to people in the street.

And guess what? I still get lonely. The stranger in the street does not want to hug me. The 60-something lady in yoga class does not want to talk to me about video games. Loneliness is about so much more than how many people you see in a day. It's about connections, and different kinds of connections, and how deep those connections run. So, yes, I feel devastatingly lonely when I think about how few people I can truly rely on.

People need to stop trying to reframe being lonely as a personal failing. It's not for lack of trying. It's not boredom or being uncomfortable with myself. I'm perfectly happy having time alone. Being alone is not the same thing as being lonely. Being lonely is a lack of the deeper connections that all human beings crave, and it's so hard being told to "just wait" for that kind of thing, especially when you're actively trying to make those connections and not getting anywhere because "stranger danger" ruined my generation. It's painful.

Yes, I may find "my people", as you put it, one day. A starving man may also find food one day. That doesn't stop him from being hungry.

I am very frustrated with the whole "you shouldn't need anyone's validation but your own" mindset I see everywhere these days because no actually we're social animals by nature and most of us won't be able to thrive in isolation regardless of how much we work on ourselves!