Maria B. (ESI) - On Shared Values and Ideas

I am drawn to people who are intelligent, charming, and attractive, both inside and out. I want our conversations to be engaging, to have common ground, shared ideas, and shared values—so that being together is interesting, pleasant, and enriching. So that we can go out into society together.

Right now, I live as if in a prison. My grandmother says, "Even in prison people socialize, but you sit in isolation within four walls, never going out." It has been a long time since I’ve been to a concert or a play. I haven't been to my local theater in ten years. I simply have no one to go with.

After all, I am a sociable person—excessively communicative, even. I cannot go anywhere alone. I have no incentive to get ready and go by myself; the desire and the mood just aren't there.