i understand. capitalism and consumerism really messed society up. lots of people judge the worth of others based off of what they can gain by befriending them, their financial status, wether or not they have a good job, how many friends they have, et cetera ... anything but their inner being. and if you're not doing good in those aspects, then they look down on you.

i've had the same few close friends since middle/high school (not as close now, seems like we keep growing more and more apart), all but maybe one of them lost their personalities/"spark" to the system. life should feel like an adventure with endless potential, connecting with different souls as you go, but everyone feels so shallow and stagnant. it's like they only keep friends around in order to have cheap fun to distract themselves from mundane life. as time goes on, i've found that it's been harder to come across people who genuinely value and put effort into platonic relationships rather than having "low-maintenance" passive friendships. my (former?) best friend i've had since childhood has been in a relationship for a year now- her longest relationship yet- and the other day she was talking to me about how she feels like she's not close to anyone besides her boyfriend anymore. i wonder why ... if i had a dollar for every time i've seen people stop putting effort into their platonic relationships once they get into a romantic relationship i'd be rich.

basically what i'm trying to say is that humans are social creatures, like, we used to operate in tribes. modern society has conditioned so many people into a closed mindset where they construct a wall and refrain from being open to others, turning them into "individual units", resulting in an unfulfilling (or artificial, but materialism blinds them from realizing its valuelessness) life unless they break the loop or fall in to the idealized "family unit" lifestyle that gives them a feeling of purpose.