Human interaction is a crucial need when it comes to a healthy functioning society. People need people. It has been proven that isolation can lead to issues such as anxiety and depression. It is simply not natural for human beings to shut themselves off from everyone.

Friendship is one of the most important things a person can have. However, it seems that in this day and age, friendship amounts to nothing more than your number of followers. Texting your friend without getting a response has become the norm. If human interaction is such a valuable function, why has the value of friendship gone out the window?

I never thought of myself as someone who had many friends. When I was growing up, I often felt different from the majority of kids my age. Many LGBTQ kids feel this way, but my sexuality wasn't the only reason. I got bullied a lot in school. It seemed as though I was the kid everyone loved to hate. It was cool to pick on me. The reasons for doing so ranged from a shirt I wore to the music I listened to to the obvious remarks about being gay.

A lot of kids will try to fit in so they can make friends. I was not that kid. I was always the type who would rather be by myself than conform in order to hang out with others. I knew I would have much more fun watching music videos in my living room than playing a sport that bored me. At a very young age, I was aware of the fact that the only way to true happiness is to be one's self. I wasn't about to force myself to be something I wasn't.

I had one friend when I was eight years old. He was a boy in my class who lived on the same block. It felt more like a forced friendship because our mothers were friends. Whenever we got together, we could never agree on what to do. He would want to play board games and I would want to listen to music. It became quite clear to me that not every boy my age liked Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson as much as I did.

When I got to sixth grade, I made a friend who sat next to me in class. We were assigned the only two desks left in the back of the class. We got to talking quite a bit. The main reason we hit it off was because she never picked on me. She was the only person who didn't judge me. She was someone I could talk to and seek advice from. In seventh grade, we had lunch together almost every day.

The bullying combined with other mistreatment I faced caused me to develop social anxiety. When my parents moved me to a different state, I felt like I could start all over again. I took comfort in the fact that nobody knew who I was. I thought if I could stay quiet and keep to myself, I wouldn't have to deal with anymore bullying. At the time, I thought I was protecting myself. However, I would later realize that I was depriving myself of friendship.

I still felt different, so that didn't help my case either. I didn't feel like I had anything in common with the people around me. I missed my hometown in Queens and the excitement of Manhattan. Going from one provincial town in Long Island to another in Pennsylvania didn't suit me at all. I was beginning to feel the negative effects of being so isolated. I yearned to be surrounded by people I could relate to in an environment that was compatible with my personality.

However, as I sit here today, true friendship still doesn't seem to be within reach. I will develop what I think are friendships and it won't take long before we drift apart. I always get into a space where any sort of interaction we have is initiated by me. It feels as though waiting for them to reach out to me will result in nothing. I always end up asking myself if I have more self-respect than this. The answer is always yes, so I make no more efforts and that is that.

This seems to be a socially accepted behavior now. Ignoring people is a practice that doesn't seem to shock anyone but me at this moment. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that it's become so much easier to connect with people. There are countless apps, social media networks, and technological devices available. My guess is that people take these options for granted. Since getting in touch no longer requires a lot of effort, they don't see the value in doing so.

I also think it has to do with the fact that we're living in an age of instant gratification. Keeping a friendship going takes work on both ends. It requires both parties involved to reach out and make things happen. A lot of people don't want to work for things to happen. On a subconscious level, that sense of entitlement may have also crept its way into friendship.

In the end, people are always going to need people. I'm hopeful that one day we'll discover the error of our ways. Someday people will learn that developing a relationship is better done over dinner, not swiping right and sending a witty message. Someday people will learn that anything worth having is going to require work. Someday people will learn the value of friendship. I just hope that day comes sooner rather than later.