At a particularly low point in my life 20 years ago, my beloved father told me that my big problem was associating with people socially who constantly criticized me, put my family down, and took monetary advantage of my goodwill. His very succinct advice was: “Get rid of those people, and do it now!” The best advice I ever received and my life changed dramatically for the better; sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees even when it blocks our path.
my beloved brother befriended a nerdy type guy who was in his class but never became friends til after HS...
this nerdy awkward guy was my brothers best friend for decades after hs....he married but had no children but basically adopted my brothers children and was very generous with time, even money......we all consider him a family friend now, and him and his wife came to my other brother's dtr's wedding....
you never know when you're going to find a friend.