Maybe I am missing something but I do not see the beautiful part everyone talks about.

You gotta find people who "speak your language". It's a massive fucking bummer to always be second guessing myself around some neurotypical people but with my partner or friends I just love being with them?

I can actually be myself with my partner, and my friends are way more understanding of the way I communicate than the general public. That's why we are friends, because we enjoy spending time with each other!

Most of my friends are through shared interests. Those come with the built-in bonus of generally being task oriented and time limited so I can try and avoid over extending myself. It's also okay to head out when you aren't feeling it anymore. No one wants to feel like an obligation.

I need a lot of time by myself, especially now that I am turbo burnt out. But I do think it's important to have some kind of connection just so one doesn't become too disconnected. If something comes up and you need to do a socializing it's a lot easier if you've been socializing on your own terms.

Plus, it's nice to take care of each other.