I grew up in and used to live in a smallish city in the Southern US. Many years ago, I found a local socialist party and it was the first time I had ever spoken to a room of people who understood the words I was using and mostly agreed with me. I was ~30 at the time (much older now) and there were only about 10 people, some of them baby leftists, but I can still remember that feeling of belonging.

I’m autistic and back then I was still unaware, but it was a big deal for me to feel understood without explaining myself 10 different ways. I was holding back tears during the first meeting I went to. Things quickly fizzled out for a lot of reasons and I eventually moved away, but just knowing I had comrades in a place and time where I thought I was completely alone helped me get through a lot of hard times.

I’d say I’m still pretty pessimistic and certainly fit doomer more than bloomer; however, that moment pushed me into a lot of activism since then