I was reading a blurb by an editor of the Quality Paperback Book Club and it struck a familiar chord with me:

Without getting too personal, I always feel like an outsider. Whether I’m with a group of strangers or surrounded by people I love and trust, I always feel a bit disconnected. Yet, when I’m reading a book I truly love, this shadow-like sense of loneliness seems to go away.

I assume that many people experience similar emotions, whether from personal insecurity or introversion or just from having different attitudes and interests than most people. I wonder though how common it is for those “outsiders” to find some passion which helps them escape their “shadow-sense of loneliness” whether briefly or overall, or do most of those people suffer through their loneliness pretty much their entire lives?

The above description certainly fit me as a youth, but I was fortunate in that I was able to connect with books–usually fiction, but not exclusively–to the extent that I am still passionate about them to this day. I think that I have another advantage too (and I know this is going to sound corny to some people) in that I am also very happy when I am in my Math Lab with my students. It is impossible to feel "disconnected" with the students who come to my safe haven on a daily basis.

I guess that’s why I will never be able to retire, haha.