Is everyone hanging out without me?

   One of the questions that has recently kept me up at night is if everyone I know is hanging out without me. This is one of the first and foremost FWPs (first world problems), and is usually pretty unjustified. In the peak of anxiety though, it can present very real emotional stress on awkward youths. I would estimate that nine in ten Canadian young adults suffer from Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me(?) at least once in a two year period.
   This fear is usually totally unjustified and sparked from the dumbest assumptions. In my case, I find myself worrying about this upon discovery of gatherings of people I know (not even necessarily people I enjoy being around) that I probably wouldn't even want to attend anyway. That doesn't mean I wouldn't attend out of common courtesy in some situations, but it certainly goes to show that it is understandable why I was not invited in the first place.
   Speaking as a young person (maybe I'll get back to you when I'm old and tell you how I feel then), I have noticed a growing common need to be invited everywhere at all times, even on statutory holidays. I feel it too, probably more so than I admit to in day to day conversation because I maintain the outer countenance of a rock. But on the inside I am like a plate of lemon jello, left out of the fridge for a couple of days sweating slightly from being ignored while EVERYONE WAS OUT HAVING FUN TOGETHER.
   Why do we feel the need to always be included? Sure if you are the one person out of everyone you know not included in something, it hurts. But usually there's a perfectly logical and fair reason for one-time exclusion. But still I find, we feel the need to be invited. In fact, I would argue it is not so much the need to be around our peers, but the need to be wanted around. Turning down an invitation at least gives the potential of being missed. And even if you know it was just a courtesy invitation you can still pretend you'll be missed.
   I know from personal experience that it can lead to ice cream binges, bathtub tears and the purchase of blouses you don't really need when the feeling of being left out festers for a while. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me can deteriorate into Does Nobody Want to Hang Out With Me in the worst cases, and that is usually entirely unjustified in all situations. Unless you're a murderer maybe and in that case all you can do is wait or the long arm of the law to keep you warm at night.
   Even if you are presented with a situation where "everyone" is hanging out without you, it is no cause for the alarm that usually ensues. There's almost always a reason, and its almost always warranted. In those situations, so what, you sit this round out, maybe play Jenga with your family. And if it really is that some people genuinely do not want you around, then why do you even want to be around them? Screw them, you have real friends who will hang out with you in the long term.