I started to get acne as early as the third grade.

By the beginning of fourth grade, kids were calling me pizza face.

And once I even remember this little girl refusing to sit by me during lunch

because she was so afraid that she was going to catch that horrible disease that had broken out all over my face.

So by fifth grade, the bullying really escalated. And then things slowly died down over the next few years.

And then by the end of seventh grade, my level of social conflict was probably about the same as it was for like every other awkward middle

schooler on the face of the planet. But since my particular flavor of bully had been a group of

former friends, former girlfriends specifically, the resulting psychological issues and scars that I that I had specifically affected my ability

to create real, meaningful, lasting, open relationships with other women.

As far as I was concerned, every single woman, no matter how sweet and wonderful the exterior,

had an inner, mean girl right under the surface, just waiting to break free.

And this affected me even into the first two years of adulthood.

I really struggled with social stress and with anxiety, and it made making female friends really just feel

like more trouble than it was worth. So then out of necessity, when I was about 22, everything changed.

I'd just been married for about a year. I had an infant son. My husband was working and going to school full

time. And I was a literal ocean away from any family. I had no idea what I was doing. I was so,

so lonely. And really, I was just out of my depth.

And it became really evident to me that I needed a tribe.

I knew it.

I needed a tribe.

So I decided to form a walking group.

It seemed like a low stakes solution, right?

...