Fortunately, life is what you make it, and the holiday season is just part of life.
It took me a while, but I found a group of friends who have similar values and (lack of) family situations to mine, and we often spend holidays together.
Local meetup groups were instrumental in bringing us together and solidifying those friendships. If you don’t have a local meetup scene, you could try starting a group. Any town with more than a few hundred people is likely to have at least a few people who want to join your movie club, hiking group, or some other thing you enjoy.
If those things are not options for you, maybe you can find volunteer opportunities in your community. Shelters and soup kitchens almost always need extra help during the holiday season, and you might meet some new friends there, too.
There are a lot of ways to make meaning for yourself, and once you have some people in your corner, the annual messages from American culture will feel less pointed and a bit more bearable. (At least, that’s been my experience.)
I do have a meaningful life, I just move to different cities and states often. In less than a year I’ll be on a different continent, and I’ll likely be moving after three years again
I’m sorry. That sucks.
Fortunately, life is what you make it, and the holiday season is just part of life.
It took me a while, but I found a group of friends who have similar values and (lack of) family situations to mine, and we often spend holidays together.
Local meetup groups were instrumental in bringing us together and solidifying those friendships. If you don’t have a local meetup scene, you could try starting a group. Any town with more than a few hundred people is likely to have at least a few people who want to join your movie club, hiking group, or some other thing you enjoy.
If those things are not options for you, maybe you can find volunteer opportunities in your community. Shelters and soup kitchens almost always need extra help during the holiday season, and you might meet some new friends there, too.
There are a lot of ways to make meaning for yourself, and once you have some people in your corner, the annual messages from American culture will feel less pointed and a bit more bearable. (At least, that’s been my experience.)
Appreciate the writeup, I hope it helps someone.
I do have a meaningful life, I just move to different cities and states often. In less than a year I’ll be on a different continent, and I’ll likely be moving after three years again
There are meetup groups in other countries, too. I’m currently in Colombia and I was kind of lost until I found a local board gaming group.