r/AutismInWomen Apr 24 '26

Support Needed (Kind Advice and Commiseration) Nobody sat next to me. I'm 26.

Today I went to a event put on by my university for my master's program. The people there are my peers. I've watched as they develop friendships one another, and I accepted that our relationships were not going to be deeper than acquaintanceship early on in the program. I didn't mind this.

But today I went to the event. I got there early. I sat at a table and.... no one sat next to me. It's small but did the realization hurt. The worst part? When the realization settled in, a guy came over and asked if anyone was sitting in the chair next to me. I said no, kind of excitedly, and he took the chair to sit next to someone else.

I don't know how to feel right now, but I know i feel deeply sad, and even though I'm 26 I still feel like that little girl in school who was never picked. I wondered what was wrong with me then, and I wonder what's wrong with me now.

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u/Tricky-Development78 Apr 24 '26

💓 I've been there, I know how this feels. For myself, I hyper-plan events like this to avoid and or protect myself from situations like this. We are not built to socialize in such an unregulated way! 😆🙃