@HerbiMetal no, I am definitely not aromantic. I fantasize about and enjoy the idea of love and romantic companionship too much. What I crave the most is that feeling of emotional intimacy with someone who truly understands me on a deeper level. It’s always been hard for me to connect with others since I never truly knew how to express myself, and writing to others online is much easier for me due to the anonymity.
In person interactions often seem more difficult to me because there always seems to be more potential for misunderstandings if you fail to read body language and gestures correctly or conversely, unintentionally give others the wrong vibe yourself. I tended to be very shy growing up and feel I missed out on a lot of my adolescence being guarded all the time and hiding myself from the world in fear of rejection.
Writing my stories allows me to open up and be vulnerable as I create the reality I wish I could have lived, with a best friend like my character Hannah or a boyfriend like Cason or Anthony. Hannah truly does represent that soul friend I wish I could have had growing up, since she and I are very much alike personality-wise. Mia is more so a recreation of the timid, apprehensive girl I was for much of my life who just wanted a place to belong. Her physical appearance is even based upon my own. Reading through what I wrote about her was actually therapeutic for me because it allowed me to better understand my past motivations and why I behaved the way I did. I always felt strange to others and as though I was the one person who didn’t fit into social groups, but perhaps that was just me trying to assimilate myself into a white-dominated, Western world that I have never been a part of.
I will confess though that sometimes I feel a little bad about myself when I see even my own favorite fictional characters, like Scott Malkinson, finding romantic companionship and acceptance from others much earlier than I did, as it makes me feel like I am behind everyone else in terms of my place in life. When even a fictional fourth grader can find someone to care about them before you do, it makes you feel a little alone you know? In all honesty, the most social interaction I have had outside of my immediate family since this pandemic started is with the people I have met on forums online, since my classes are all being held virtually through Zoom. Sometimes I wonder if there is something wrong with me or if I am just the abnormal one in a world of common people.
I just wish I knew what it felt like to be wanted or genuinely cared about by someone for once, and to not feel like the last option when everyone’s else has no other choice.