As an older fictive who has been entrenched in kin and system communities, there is one takeaway above all else that I wish for the younger crowds to understand. Wanting friends who understand your experiences, or even who share a source, is a valid reason to reach out and connect with others, but you must be wary of those who may be close for this reason alone. You deserve to be known for who you are as well as were, and if you find someone demanding that you only conform to an image of you they've built in their head- RUN. Similarly, expect people you meet to be more than the image you may have made in your head. We are people, the entire point of a new life is to be someone new. Allow yourself and others to grow into that.
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