It's refreshing... because this... this fannish thing we do, means so much to all of us for different reasons. It's what got us through rough times, it's something you can hold onto and call your own, it's a safe place. And no one but us is going to understand it, no matter if you want them to or not. It's just nice to know that we're all here, in this same place together.
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I came here via Metafandom and have really enjoyed reading the OP and the comments.

The quote above really resonated for me, particularly in light of the book I'm currently reading. Viktor Frankl, in "Man's Search for Meaning," talks about how important it is to have a safe place to go mentally during times of fear/horror/whathaveyou (he is a concentration camp survivor) ... and how laughter and beauty helped so many people live through unspeakable horror.

I'm not saying that any of us has something in our lives that can compare directly to Frankl's experience ... but all of us have clearly experienced some things that made us obviously "separate" from our peers. It is a wonderful thing to find a community that truly understands that separate-ness, as ironic as it may sound.

My applause for an excellently written essay that so clearly spells out what it feels like on the inside.