Like I grew up essentially being a homeschooled church kid (who was also abused too) living in a rural rural area, not like a suburb like actual countryside. The homeschooled part is kinda just more that my parents sorta given up on trying after 6th grade. The church kid part was mostly enforced by my parents to try to have a social outlet for me. But at the end of it I just don't know how to talk to people, which has its own set of negative consequences.
It gets worse when any resemblance of community around here is steeped heavily in religion of the evangelical variety. So even if I wanted to I couldn't do anything without being told some nonsense about how everything wrong with me is that I'm a 'lost sheep' that needs to reconnect with god. Including going to get therapy, because I've heard that some of the professionals here is on that BS too.
And the more I'm thinking about it, the more I feel like I'm completely screwed out of having a relatively normal life. Not to mention I found a way to unintentionally self sabotage the first relationship I had.
And this just turned into me rambling about my situation.
I grew up in many different places learning different languages meeting lots of people, (think army brat) and that fucked me up royally. Always being the New kid at school made me an easy target for bullying. Since I was moved around so much as a kid and had to interact with tons of different people one could assume I am a social butterfly.I am not.
What I am trying to say is that there is no normal, we are all quirky and unique with different sets of circumnstances and tragically that makes us all the same. Hang on! You will find a way.
I live now in an ultraconservative religious place (no choice) as an atheist but managed to find three friends and a spouse in the time I have been here.