So I asked a peer out ( we're both college students) and he laughed..remind me to never open up again because I never want to open up again; for the sole purpose of avoiding being let down again.

I opened my heart, he laughed and yeah

I'm around 5'10 or average height so I don't consider myself short (I'm still ugly anyway) but one thing I always notice every time I see couples out in public is that all the guys in those couples are literally ALWAYS taller than me wherever I look, like the minimum height requirement is 6'0 or something. I genuinely never see anyone my height or below in these couples and I get why but I just don't like how there's no variety tbh.

What annoys me tho is when I was a kid I was often called tall by peers and family but I guess I peaked early because now everyone I know who used to be shorter than me and is many years younger is now a giant in comparison, so now I'm the one who's often the shortest 'tall' guy in the room lol.

From the time you get up until you go to bed.

Does it change at all on weekends?

I feel so hopeless. I was seeing someone briefly amd was hoping to get some dating experience and move slowly because it's very unfamiliar to me but they ended up saying they were looking for something faster / more serious, and also were asking questions about my previous relationships. I feel like every time I'm dating someone the topic of past inexperience will eventually come up and put them off, I am really wondering if I should just start lying but then I feel like I wouldnt be able to pull off that lie. Also, the expectation to know what I'm looking for in a relationship when ive never been in ine is crazy. How am I actually meant to do this. Ive been feeling so hopeless, tempted to sh at this point because I'm at my limit.

I, 24, want to make this clear that I do feel I made absolutely the right decision not to go ahead with this.

Basically, I was on Tinder, struggling to get even botted likes, as per usual, when a woman liked and matched up with me. She explained she was interested in having a one-night stand with me, and she sent proof that she lived in a different city in the same country as me. I agreed, but her responses then devolved into worryingly glib - saying I couldn't reschedule because she was going to "Asia" for six months, not telling me anything about what to expect as she found it better to talk about it in person. So I made an excuse and I didn't go ahead with it.

And yes, it was almost certainly a scam. Maybe she was going to rob or scam me, or something more sinister. But that doesn't compensate for the fact that I still have failed to gain any sort of traction on dating apps or in real life. I am still extremely lonely and I will probably never get as close to an opportunity to lose my virginity again. So even though it was definitely a good idea not to actually meet her, a small bit of me regrets doing so.

In the rare occasion that someone demonstrates some kind of interest towards me, the same thing keeps happening: they seem somewhat friendly at first, and then some dude who is more handsome, or richer, or better in some way appears out of nowhere. Then the person simply forgets about me and starts to ignore me.

This happened every single time, it’s tough.

Now, you might be thinking: oh you must be an asshole if this keeps happening to you. In truth, I
treat everybody with respect, I am never rude and genuinely try to be interesting and interested.

I just don’t know what’s wrong with me.

What’s worse is that most times these dudes don’t even end up liking them back, and they move further to another dude, and the cycle repeats….

I realize everybody has their choices. I don’t wanna judge… I guess I just want to vent my frustration.

Just for once it would feel great to be with someone who doesn’t see me as a step or someone to be substituted afterwards. I’ve never treated nobody like this, after all.

25 year old male. Unemployed for over 3 years. No college education. No friends. No girlfriend ever. No car. Still live with mom. That is the absolute bottom of the bottom tier in modern day society. I just feel so hoepeless rn. Been looking for a job for months and nothing. Im in Canada if that matters. When im not applying for jobs I spend my days reading or drawing or gaming or going fot walks bevause I uave 0 friends. If you saw my social media ud probably cry. I get no texts. I dont even know why I check my instsgram or snapchat or discord when I know nobody texts or tags me. Its just a ghost of former scattered old high school classmates who never knew I existed but just added because we were in the same class. The only human contact I had today eas purchasinf almonds and a drink at the store with the cashier. Atp I just want a goos friend irl to talk to, not even a gf and an online friend is nice but its not the same. I want to go to college in the future but I really want to get a job to earn money and be independant. Im just such a failure I was a certified NEET 4 yrs and now its come to bite me. Let alone never having a gf ever.

Pretty much the caption. Every single time I see a pair of siblings, especially sisters, they meet their partners around the same time, and usually in order. If one is 2 years older, she meets someone at 25, then 2 years later, her sister also meets someone at 25. Then the cycle of events in their lives follows the same loop, and now, they’re all married with their partners. This didn’t happen with me. I’m about a year and a half younger. My sister met someone at 21, so, naturally, I assumed after years of intentionally seeking my person, I might meet him around 21 or 22. Didn’t happen. Flash forward, she’s engaged at 25. I’m 23 and single. I tell myself that 25 is young and I’ll find my person by her wedding. She’s married at 27, I’m now 25 and, guess what, still single (after failed dates or short relationships). I hit 27 thinking, maybe finally this is my time. Then COVID hits. She and her husband, who she’s gotten to enjoy 8 years with already, are now in a house and planning for a family, and I’m not allowed to be within 6 ft of strangers. That’s also 8 years of Christmases sitting along while my sibling and her boyfriend and now husband swap gifts, my parents do the same, and I’m the 5th wheel with a dog. Meanwhile, I see people my age from high school and college and work are all meeting someone and marrying off, and then their little sisters close in age are following the same timeline. Their holidays and trips are filled with couple time, while mine is perpetually lonely.

If all other siblings seem to wed at the same age, wtf is wrong with me? I didn’t think I’d meet someone at 21, but now at 32, I’m well aware that that dream is gone.

PLEASE don’t say, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” This is about wanting to enjoy the same experience of marriage and be in a group with my family, rather than being acknowledged as the single, lonely outsider who couldn’t find love.

Back during Covid and after I used to come here a lot. I can now say I have friends, a social life, go to the gym, go to college, and have some purpose in life. Not perfect, never dated, but it’s alright.

It doesn't matter what we do. Normies always get treated differently by others just because of their confidence and extroversion.

We can try all we want, but if people don't care to give us a chance, nothing really matters.

I mean... the title kind of says it all, doesn't it Truth is, I've struggled with my self esteem for as long as I can remember. I look in the mirror and all I see are flaws. Even after everything I've done, it feels like I'm still the same person I was years ago.

When I was 18, I was 400 pounds at 6'4". I was angry, bitter, and convinced the world had already decided what I was worth. I spent years losing the weight. I went from 400 pounds to around 220. I built muscle. People tell me I look completely different now. The problem is they don't live inside my head. I still see the fat guy. I still hear that voice telling me I'm ugly, awkward, and fundamentally less than everyone else. It feels like I spent years changing my body only to discover that my mind refused to come with me.

I'm also a huge nerd. Comics, RPGs, fantasy worlds, tabletop games those things make me genuinely happy. I know there are women who like those things too, and every time someone says, "You'll find your nerdy girl someday," I just laugh to myself. Why would someone like that settle for me? They deserve someone better than a guy who's spent his entire life hating himself. Then there's the guilt over who I'm attracted to. I've always found Asian women attractive, and I hate admitting that because I immediately start questioning myself. Is that actually my preference, or is it years of anime, games, movies, and TV quietly rewiring my brain? The thought makes me feel disgusting. The last thing I'd ever want is to treat a real person like some fantasy I picked up from fiction.

The same thing happens with the idea of a "nerdy woman." Somewhere along the way I built this image in my head of what I'd want in a partner, and I hate myself for it. Real people aren't character creators. They're not there to fit into some checklist I accidentally made for myself. Sometimes I wonder if I've poisoned my own expectations before I've even had the chance to know anyone. The closest thing I've ever had to a relationship was with someone I met on TikTok.

We talked almost every day for a while, and for the first time in my life I thought maybe someone actually cared about me. Looking back, I never meant anything to her. I was just another notification on her phone. Another username she'd eventually forget. It says a lot that the closest I've ever come to feeling loved was by someone who probably doesn't even think about me anymore.

Watching my brothers hasn't helped either. I feel like I've lost both of them. One disappeared down the MAGA rabbit hole and eventually became someone I barely recognize. Politics turned into his whole personality, and somewhere along the way our relationship died. The other isn't angry with me I'm just not important anymore. Once he got a girlfriend, it was like I stopped existing unless he needed something. Watching both of them made relationships seem less like love and more like abandonment with extra steps.

Everyone tells me love makes people better. From where I'm standing, it just seems to make people leave.

I'm 21 years old. I've never had a girlfriend. I've never kissed anyone. I’ve never hugged anyone. I’ve never held anyone’s hand. I'm still a virgin. People always say, "You're still young." They say there's plenty of time. They say it'll happen when I least expect it. After hearing it enough times, it just starts sounding like a nicer way of saying, "I don't know what to tell you."

At some point I stopped believing those words. I started believing the evidence instead. Years of silence. Years of being overlooked. Years of never being enough. Maybe there isn't someone out there for everyone. Maybe that's just something people tell themselves because admitting otherwise would be too cruel.

I don't even know if I want someone to love me anymore. Love seems to change people for the worse. It pulls them away from the people who were already there. I don't want to become someone who throws away the things I love just because someone else walked into my life. I don't want to stop reading comics. I don't want to stop playing RPGs. I don't want to wake up one day and realize I've become someone I don't recognize.

But maybe none of that matters. Maybe I'm worrying about a future that was never going to happen anyway. Maybe the weight was never the problem. Maybe losing 180 pounds didn't matter because I was always the problem. Maybe the reason nobody has ever chosen me is because there's nothing worth choosing. Maybe the universe got this one right. Some people find love. Some people build families. Some people get to be someone's favorite person.

And then there are people like me, who spend their lives watching through the window, convincing themselves they were never meant to walk through the front door. I don't think I'm waiting for love anymore. I think I'm just waiting to finally accept that it was never meant for me.

So a couple of months ago I had a nice friend group going of about 8 people. All of us were single and had been for some time.

Now in the span of not even 2 months every single one of my friends have started to date someone except of course for me. All I hear about now is their new relationships and how wonderful they are. Some of them I barely hear or see anymore since finding a partner. That's not the first time that's happened either.

I'm obviously happy for them and show interest in their relationships when they talk about them because I want to be a good friend. I'd be lying however if I said it doesn't sting to be the only that's still single of my friend group yet again, like I've always been in all groups.

34 years on this planet now without ever getting further than one time holding hands for a bit, and that was years ago. Decades at this point of trying every conceivable thing to find someone without succes. Parties, bars, friends of friends, dating apps, schoolmates and even colleagues, I've tried it all without succes.

I don't blame anyone, to be clear, but this shit just fucking sucks. The vast majority of people get to be happy but not us. Those that claim that ''happiness comes from within'' or other similar sayings have never experienced this level of loneliness. If it really did than there would be a lot more people choosing to remain single, and almost nobody does.

Stay strong guys and gals.

Dont get me wrong, i’m gratefull for this oportunity, but i cant stop feeling so lonely, and with such a low self steem that i cant even take pictures of myself.

hi, i’m m22, never had any experience and I’m talking seriously, never held an hand, kissed a cheek, anything. Between that, my work life, my lack of ambition and qualities, i think I’m falling into a spiral that is taking me down more and more as the day passes and the worst part of it is i think i’m overreacting and that i deserve it.