Robbed

 Now that I'm living alone and am self sufficient, I reflect on the past. It's probably my own fault, but I feel like my life was robbed. At the age of 23, I was on a track for success. Maybe I wasn't the best employee or student, but I had a career mapped out at a great company in a good city. It turns out that my parents are far stricter than I could ever imagine, and when I ran back to them, in 2007, they came down hard on me. I was free, I was independent and living my life.

Now I'm 41, and the last 20 years of my life have disappeared. My health doesn't seem to be that good, and I feel I am too old to start any kind of meaningful career. Maybe I just don't want to.

But in terms of people, I have very few of them in my life. I have my friend, but she is not as devoted to me as I previously thought. She doesn't return my messages or calls all the time. I don't like to feel that I'm needy, but it would be nice to not feel so alone. It seems like most people do have family or friends. I have wound up in a house that is mental health, by myself. My cat is okay.