I'm 32. All my friends are settling down, buying houses, having kids. I’m a shift supervisor, still rotating weeks, basically a human night-light. They try to plan stuff—Sunday brunch, Friday drinks—but my schedule is a statistical anomaly. I say I’m too busy, but really it’s just… exhaustion. Or maybe learned helplessness? I don't know if I'm pushing them away or if they've just given up. My parents back home think I'm doing great, the success story. Ha. I just feel like I'm stuck in a time loop, watching everyone else move forward.