What I Learned About Love, Dating And Relationships From Where I Grew Up

I grew up in a well off area. The city itself that I grew up in was one of the wealthiest cities in the state and among the 50 most-educated cities in the U.S. One of the girls that I went to school with knew where Eminem lived in her subdivision. Dita Von Teese was born in the city. Madonna grew up in the area I lived in as well. Other notable people came from my area.

In my area, people were hooked on status and competition, but at the core, there was a lack of connection. It felt lonely and scary because I didn’t have many true friends.

Not having many true friends and feeling like I didn’t have much to show for myself, I felt overwhelmed. I felt like a failure and this extended to how I dealt with others. I didn’t have fun growing up. I wasn’t invited to anything fun. I couldn’t make friends. In growing up in a wealthy area, but not being wealthy myself, I would hear about lots of vacation trips, mall shopping trips, see all of the manicures and haircuts that girls in my school would get done and hear all of the secondhand gossip going around. There was just nothing in common I had with these girls.

The fastest way you learn about beliefs, how to live your live and what you should do growing up is through your family. A lot of families in my area were doing very…