Great read Tabitha. I could perfectly relate not being able to make friends as an adult. Cosmopolitan cities do provide you with a whole lot of growth and opportunity, but steal genuine relationships from you in return. Since no ones really there for the long run, every conversation is only surface level and no one makes any effort to get to know you at a deeper level these days.

Even at a hotel/bar I would be highly suspicious of people coming up to talk to me, like what really is this persons intention here. With the current environment,(and Im not even talking about covid) it's quite tough to trust strangers these days, no matter how many common interests you share.