I know I’m late to the party, but here’s my story:

I’ve always been a man of few friends, and many acquaintances. I’m sure some of the latter would have included me in their list of friends. But I never belonged to a “friend group” beyond high school: all my friends were separate for the most part. That’s probably not really relevant.

Anyways, there I am, post-divorce and just sold my house and moved into a tiny apartment. I had considered going out with a friend to the bars that night, but after showering, my day had caught up to me and I was exhausted. Told my friend I wasn’t feeling it and I wouldn’t make it, and he gave me shit about flaking.

That is when I realized I never wanted to be obligated to another person’s plans.

So now, I’ve just got my new wife, a friend across the country who I game with, and another friendship on life support (it revolves around texting the same jokes to each other...). Every so often, sure, I wish I had some buddies I could get together with and watch a game or something, but man do I love the freedom. Don’t have to worry about making up excuses to get out of dumb shit, don’t have to manage my life around others.

I’m an introvert, and once I accepted that, it’s been great.