About ten years ago, when I was only 14, I had dozens of friends from various places. I made the mistake of letting them all get to know each other, which didn’t seem like a problem until one of them accused me of something I didn’t do and somehow convinced everyone else I was the bad guy.
That’s how the loneliest period of my life began, and I’d like to tell you more about it.
For four months, I had no social interactions. Every day, I would sit alone by the sea, thinking, wondering, and questioning everything that had happened. I had been very sociable before this event, and my friends had meant the world to me.
I was part of three separate friend groups, and we did nothing but hang out and chat on WhatsApp. When they all got to know each other, and this incident happened, I lost every single one of them at once.
I remember one time when my phone was taken away for 24 hours as a punishment, and when I got it back, I had received around 3,000 messages from these groups and multiple friends. That was how much communication and social interaction I was used to back then.
But suddenly, my WhatsApp became deserted. No one texted or called me for months.
I did everything possible to distract myself. I watched series, movies, and videos. I read articles, blogs, and books. My only goal was to avoid facing the fact that I was completely alone.
As days went by, I started enjoying my solitude. I began to appreciate my new interests and hobbies, but most importantly, I learned to enjoy my own company.
After those four months, when we returned to school, things gradually improved with my friends, and I slowly rebuilt my social life. But I wasn’t the same person anymore.
That summer taught me how to be self-sufficient, how to enjoy my own company, and that having friends is supplementary, not fundamental.
This period of my life shaped who I am today and had the most positive impact on me. That’s why it’s my favorite, and if I had the choice, I’d choose to live it over and over again.
The reason I shared this story is to show you that negative events don’t always lead to negative outcomes.
Of course, I felt a lot of grief at the time, but emotions are temporary. I don’t feel any of the negative emotions now, but the lessons I learned are eternal.
So, if you’re currently struggling in life, that’s good news! It means you’re being prepared to have more than you do now and to become better than you are.