I just want some friends

How difficult can this be? I just want some friends. At 24, getting friends is harder than you might think (or at least this is how it seems to me).

People my age hang out at bars, meet at clubs or at work, etc. Life revolves around sex or dating or work. Where do I fit in this?

Virtually everyone in my academic program is a workaholic because they want that degree, that awesome job, etc. They seemingly have little to live for, to aspire to so they try to do 20 hour internships and take three or four classes.

I think to the "good olde days" when I lived in the dorms and there at least were other people. When I lived in a community house with 11 other Christian guys. When I was in a smallgroup bible study and an even smaller group of people reading Blue Like Jazz and Ragamuffin Gospel for the first time. We lived our lives, to some degree, with eachother. Those days are over and my soul hurts because of it all.

What would it take to go back, if possible? Certainly I can't pretend to be 18 and move into the dorms? Would I try to be a Christian or would I role with the punches and party until I puke and party some more? Would I do the crazy things that dorm students do or would I settle back into a Christian organization. Certainly this is the safe thing to do.

I'm not bashing Christian organizations by the way but there's something very, um, limiting by them. On one hand, they show you how to have fun without sinning but on the other hand, they help separate you from the world around you. All of a sudden, it's not okay to have sex be something that is common ground between you and friends, women, men, etc. Booze, depending on the church, are taboo. Certainly the drugs that make and break friendships - especially pot - are of course off limits. I like to talk about academic subjects and hang out with people while listening to chill music — the only thing missing is the pot... but it's funny because I'm not convinced you really need it either.

What does it take for a 24 year-old to make good, solid relationships? Who are my peers? Can I even make friendships with 20 and 19 year-olds and would I want to? I'm not a "cool" person by their narcissistic standards. F*ck their narcissistic standards — I hope their iPods and cell phones would just die, I hope their myspace and facebook universes would coplapse. Just as slavery wasn't acceptable, we must reject the urge to be enslaved by technology and embrace people, relationships, and most importantly - God! Certainly I don't expect people to be perfect but I do still expect them to still be people though.