Growing up I always felt my family had a deficit because we lived in an apartment, drove an old car, and we did not have many clothes.  Beginning in elementary school the kids all LOVED my parents, which made me happy.  Mama and daddy did everything together, always held hands, and always included me.  My parents were married only to each other, and they were whole-heartedly devoted to me.  We were all just so very happy.  I figured everyone had that, only with a house and money.  My father taught me to always be positive and thankful for all we had.  I have just come to realize how many families are seriously dysfunctional.  People can be incredibly cold, unforgiving, and hold grudges.  Frankly it is mind-boggling to me to NOT be loved:  truly and sincerely.  I remember when my husband and I first got married and we’d had a fight.  My mother told me that my husband was her son now, too — and she refused to take a side.  My mother truly loved my husband as her own son, and I am an only child!  Naively, I assumed all families genuinely merge together.  If that does not happen please know you do not need to win the approval of others in order to gain your value.  Instead I would say go where you are loved, appreciated, and/or at least needed.  In the Bible, Proverbs 15:17 (Contemporary Version) says:  “A simple meal with love is better than a feast where there is hatred.”  I discovered that is true even 2,000 years past the time it was written.  What I have learned is that you cannot expect or even hope for others to love you.  The reasons are not important and often it is complicated.  Sometimes it’s not even about you.  However, sometimes you just cannot please people no matter how hard you try — or how many years pass while trying to do so.  Being excluded from things can be both highly embarrassing and incredibly hurtful.  My advice to you is to be gracious and rise above it.  Other people do not define your self-worth.  Be kind, be forgiving, and be empathetic.  Do not ever exclude someone because of some perceived infraction.  I am writing this for everyone — regardless of race, religion, nationality, age, sexual orientation, gender, or socioeconomic level.  You deserve to be truly accepted and, if you are not — know that you are enough.