It's one of the ugly truths of human existence, that most people won't admit.

"Looks" absolutely play a large role in inter-human relationships. But since it carries a lot of unpleasant things most people don't want to admit, they either ignore it, or outright lie about it to make themselves feel better.

The research has been done "pretty" people earn more, get more promotions, and are generally more successful at life.

Not to say your life is over if you're not pretty. But there is a clear advantage.

The thing to focus on is that there are many different kinds of people in the world. I grew up with a disability, and it didn't take me long to figure out that there are people you'll meet who just hate you for not being what they consider to be "normal." There's nothing you can do - they're just going to hate you. But, I eventually found that there are also people who would never dream of doing such a thing, and will treat you neutrally until they get to know you, and will treat you well after that if you treat them well.

Yes, the assholes of the world will always be there, and they'll make you feel like shit, but the more you can dismiss them as simply being judgemental assholes who know nothing about you, the more you'll be able to see all the people who will treat you fairly. Sure, if you've got a terrible personality, then even those people will want to have nothing to do with you, but if you control the things you can control, there are a lot of people in the world who will see that and think well of you for it.

I had similar experiences in my youth and it definitely warped my perception of self-worth. It took a long time to overcome.

So relatable! ..sad.

I didn't think I was ugly because I thought I was ugly. I thought I was ugly because no one wanted anything to do with me for reasons I couldn't comprehend.

I don't want to offend you or anyone in any way, I just wonder if it could have been a case of neurodiversity (you being neurodivergent in a way socializing didn't come as natural as for others).

In my case, I understood my own differences a little late. I was rejected a couple of times because I was apparently showing-off. I connected the dots years later: I was being too effusive and intense, which was read as arrogance or cockiness.

A friend of mine struggled with his autism. People during his school years thought he was grumpy (or worse), when in reality he was having a hard time coping with external stimuli and information.

People can see something is different, but many (even as adults) are not kind about the explanation. Instead of thinking that you are a shy person (or whatever trait they are judging), they might think you think you're better than them or whatever.

It's funny how many people default for an option in which the "weird" person is a bad person somehow, but there's probably some evolutionary adaptations to partially blame...

I also noticed how "pretty" people didn't have anywhere near as hard of a time socializing as I did. They were allowed to have bad personalities. Even if I was as kind and helpful as I could possibly be I'd never be treated the same way as a "pretty" person would.

Same as my last paragraph. It's human nature to make judgments based on taste, on personal preferences, etc. "Pretty privilege" is real, and we should outgrow it, but... yeah. It even affects people deemed attractive as they cannot trust the same, they cannot escape things like comparisons, etc. Let's not talk about the bullying for the other side. It's vicious.

I hope you're okay after that experience.