I have always had a hard time making friends. I have never really felt like I fit in, and as a child, I was forced to grow up and be an adult–which made things a bit difficult when it came to hanging out with other kids in the same age group. Even now, a month away from my 25th birthday, I can count my friends (that aren’t family, either by blood or marriage) on one hand. To be even more specific, they aren’t the super close friends I talk to every day–one of them I only talk to every few months, another I only am really “friends” with because our sons are friends, and the last one I talk to every few weeks or so. Why am I like this? Sure, it’s partly because of my childhood and my shyness, but another reason I’m like this is because of friendship wounds. Just like in a romantic relationship, when something happens that negatively affects you, you carry it with you into future relationships. It isn’t any different with friendships. Wounds from prior friendships can create an atmosphere where it is harder for us to make new friends, no matter how old we are.