Belonging

When I was young, I didn't have a great sense of belonging.  I didn't feel like I belonged in any particular group of peers.  I often satisfied that need through reading, as I often identified with the characters in books more closely than those in the real world.  But also, I'm not sure I felt that need as strongly as others.  I rather relished my "outsider" status, at least in my own eyes.  But the need to belong was still there.  As I grew through my teen years, I developed a much better sense of community, and had a great group of friends.  And while I still feel like I didn't exactly "belong," I felt friendship and appreciation, which were what I really needed.  I think, some may feel that to honestly feel like I belonged, I would have had to reveal my gay orientation to a group of friends, and that was not going to happen.  But even then, I'm not sure I would have really belonged.  Or maybe I'm misunderstanding.  What does it mean to belong?