Thread 81954863

i have been a recluse and a neet since i was 16 till i was 21. after my 21th birthday i decided i was done and i started doing things, going outside, talking to people, travelling, im back to school and im studying for a degree, i started playing guitar and i took care of my appearance, went to a nye party, and all that. its been a year and a half now, but i feel like nothing has changed in me, and i feel like its too late to do anything meaningful. too late to get good at guitar and join a band, too late to make friends, too late to have a dream too late to have love, too late to experience anything that isn't the suffering of being an adult. im scared all im doing is for nothing.

How exactly is it late anon? Most people finish their degrees around 22 or 23, and many go on to pursue higher education like a master's for a few more years. In my eyes, if you're already putting yourself out there and having a bit of fun, you're not late for anything at all. Everyone in college feels like they're being left behind or that they've missed some invisible deadline but more often than not, it's just an illusion we've created in our minds.
I think that feeling usually stems from a sense of inadequacy, a lack of confidence, or even ego. Confidence is something many people lack, but it can be built either by doing something that earns genuine praise or by faking it until it becomes second nature. Lifting weights is one example, although it is a natural way to develop said confidence and ego, it's how many people have improved their self-image and mental clarity.

To me, it feels like you're doing all the right things, but maybe there isn't that one thing right now that truly brings you happiness, something to look forward to. I'd say focus on finding that for now, rather than spiraling over the future. There's still plenty of time. You're still a young adult, and you're far from late.

>>81955145
>Most people finish their degrees around 22 or 23
what im getting is more like a high school diploma, perhaps i've worded it wrong though i dont know how it works where you live. i dropped out years ago and now im trying again. what people get at 23 or so is a college degree or something like that.
>it's just an illusion we've created in our minds
that might be true for normalfags but i can't deny that i've basically never lived my teens simply because i was closed in my room for years on end.
>Lifting weights is one example
but i did, i did everything your average self improoove guy tells you to do. daily exercise, talk with strangers, fake happiness get a hobby whatever. you name it and there's a good chance i tried. but nothing changed me, i still feel inadequate and i still feel like exactly the same i was before i started doing any of this, if not worse.
>there isn't that one thing right now that truly brings you happiness
i think so too. i know what it is but its outside my grasp. it has always been. its not something i can work towards.
>There's still plenty of time
i hope youre right. thanks for taking your time to reply.

>>81955485
>perhaps i've worded it wrong though i dont know how it works where you live.
Ah! I apologize then, I didn't think of that possibility, in that case I can tell why you must be feeling this way and when people around you are so much younger. Perhaps due to comparison? If that's the case, then you aren't a typical normie, and you shouldn't compare yourself to them, they are different.
>i can't deny that i've basically never lived my teens simply because i was closed in my room for years on end
Everyone leads a different life and is different, we all have different experiences so It's normal to miss out on a few, in your case, since it was pretty much everything, you're dwelling on the past, even if you missed out on them, so what? you're still alive and kicking with more than half your life left to live.
>i know what it is but its outside my grasp. it has always been. its not something i can work towards.
There you go, you got your answer and your solution right there, do you mind saying what it is and why it is something you can't pursue or work towards?

>>81955978
>you shouldn't compare yourself to them, they are different
i know, but its so hard when all i see is people living what i wish i had. i get so envious and i cant help but wonder how it would've been like to have it. its like im an animal locked in a cage forced to look at the visitors exert their freedom in front of me.
>so what?
what do you mean "so what?" how am i supposed to not care when i missed out on what makes someone a real person? i've got no memories to look back to, nothing to prove that i actually lived. i only started living last year and in a few more i'll be too old to do anything that i wanted to do back then. the only things in my future are just work work work work and death.
>do you mind saying what it is and why it is something you can't pursue or work towards?
i want to be loved, for who i am. its not something i can buy. it's not something i can work towards because it depends on someone else. its not something i can pursue, its not material.