girlonthetram
New member
(Sorry this is so long, I haven't told anyone my story before and I really just had to get it all out)
Right after a turned 14, I moved from Alameda (near San Francisco) in the States to Geelong in Australia. Two very different places if you didn't already know. :?
I know I'm just generalizing, but for the most part people in the San Francisco bay area are very tolerant, friendly, and open minded, hence the reason so many different cultures, subcultures, ethnicities, and sexualities can find acceptance there.
Geelong, well.. it's just not the same. I really feel I just don't mix well with most of the people here. There's something for everyone in San Francisco. In Geelong you have to be a certain way or you won't fit in at all.
I took pride in being eccentric and I was stubborn when I first arrived. I refused to change my ways and I hated everyone I met, so I became isolated, then depressed. I came out of depression but I developed social anxiety disorder almost immediately after. I shouldn't really blame the city of Geelong. It's my own inability to adjust to change that's really the cause of all this.
Another reason I hated it here so much when I first arrived: I was a public school kid who started going to a private Christian school. Bad idea! I remember how in San Francisco there'd occasionally be a homophobe, here and there, but they were a minority and people would often argue with them. At Christian College (the school I went to in Geelong) I remember sitting there in shock as EVERYONE in the group around me agreed that gays shouldn't be allowed to marry. Only one girl agreed they should be allowed, but when I asked her if they should be allowed to adopt she said no because 'the poor kid would be miserable'...... 8O
We came to blows again when I tried to throw a Halloween party, since I missed my favorite holiday already. Half of them didn't turn up because they'd already decided I was a 'freak'. The other half refused because they thought it was satanic! :evil: In the end only about four people actually came.
On top of all this, we literally had nothing to talk about. We just didn't have anything in common. I became argumentative and just basically an annoyance to them, so they ignored me and I drifted to another group.
I used to hang out with my friends everyday in SF, we'd always do something. To go from that to sitting at home every night was hard. The move was hard on my dad too. He fell in to depression. All he did was sleep but he got over it.
I did too, sort of. I moved schools THANK GOD. Started going to a nice public school, non-religious. It's step up. The people here are less shallow and bitchy and I've made friends, but that couldn't stop me from developing social anxiety disorder. The damage had already been done I suppose, and it's getting worse. It's so bad I can't even talk to my friends in America on the phone anymore. That hurts the most, not being able to talk to the people I've known almost all my life.
I'm almost 18 now and I've finally decided to seek help. I'm seeing a psychologist for the first time in about a week. I really hope I can cure myself of this before I move back to the States. Is one year enough time??
Right after a turned 14, I moved from Alameda (near San Francisco) in the States to Geelong in Australia. Two very different places if you didn't already know. :?
I know I'm just generalizing, but for the most part people in the San Francisco bay area are very tolerant, friendly, and open minded, hence the reason so many different cultures, subcultures, ethnicities, and sexualities can find acceptance there.
Geelong, well.. it's just not the same. I really feel I just don't mix well with most of the people here. There's something for everyone in San Francisco. In Geelong you have to be a certain way or you won't fit in at all.
I took pride in being eccentric and I was stubborn when I first arrived. I refused to change my ways and I hated everyone I met, so I became isolated, then depressed. I came out of depression but I developed social anxiety disorder almost immediately after. I shouldn't really blame the city of Geelong. It's my own inability to adjust to change that's really the cause of all this.
Another reason I hated it here so much when I first arrived: I was a public school kid who started going to a private Christian school. Bad idea! I remember how in San Francisco there'd occasionally be a homophobe, here and there, but they were a minority and people would often argue with them. At Christian College (the school I went to in Geelong) I remember sitting there in shock as EVERYONE in the group around me agreed that gays shouldn't be allowed to marry. Only one girl agreed they should be allowed, but when I asked her if they should be allowed to adopt she said no because 'the poor kid would be miserable'...... 8O
We came to blows again when I tried to throw a Halloween party, since I missed my favorite holiday already. Half of them didn't turn up because they'd already decided I was a 'freak'. The other half refused because they thought it was satanic! :evil: In the end only about four people actually came.
On top of all this, we literally had nothing to talk about. We just didn't have anything in common. I became argumentative and just basically an annoyance to them, so they ignored me and I drifted to another group.
I used to hang out with my friends everyday in SF, we'd always do something. To go from that to sitting at home every night was hard. The move was hard on my dad too. He fell in to depression. All he did was sleep but he got over it.
I did too, sort of. I moved schools THANK GOD. Started going to a nice public school, non-religious. It's step up. The people here are less shallow and bitchy and I've made friends, but that couldn't stop me from developing social anxiety disorder. The damage had already been done I suppose, and it's getting worse. It's so bad I can't even talk to my friends in America on the phone anymore. That hurts the most, not being able to talk to the people I've known almost all my life.
I'm almost 18 now and I've finally decided to seek help. I'm seeing a psychologist for the first time in about a week. I really hope I can cure myself of this before I move back to the States. Is one year enough time??
