- Have you ever felt that sheer panic when you think that you've been left out excluded, alientated? You're scrolling the old
Instagram, as one does, and you come across a picture of friends. They're so cute, they're smiling, oh my God, they look like
they're having so much fun. Wait, where is this? Are they at a club? Or a circus? Why wasn't I invited? Hello, old insecurities, care to jump to the
worst conclusion with me? Are they tired of me? Did I say something? Are they just pretending to like me? Maybe there's a logical reason for this. They were planning a
surprise party for me, but it's not anywhere near my birthday. You like the picture, pretending
it doesn't bother you. You're dreading seeing them again. Should you even bring it up? You decide to play it
cool, like you don't care. You try and gather intel, but casually. So, what'd you do the other night? Oh yeah, just hung out
with the gang, yeah? Sounds cool, sounds cool. You're waiting for some epic apology, like, "Oh my God, I totally
forgot to invite you, "I'm so sorry." Or even,
"Oh, I didn't really think "it was your thing." Anything would be fine. Or maybe you didn't want to
go out to whatever it was, but the invitation would have made you feel wanted, appreciated. The frustration builds up until it's impeding your every thought. You can't even enjoy lunch. And then that anxiety
turns into resentment, but it shouldn't. Because them leaving you out, it probably wasn't on purpose. But, the rough truth is, we're only the center of
our own individual worlds, and everyone's scared of being left out.
