Learning how to have friends

Hi,

I’m new here and joined because I’m super lonely and tbh scared of falling back into the kind of depression I had a few years back.

So, I want to learn how to make and be a good friend, and also looking for ideas of fun things I can do alone of an evening/weekend while I’m getting there.

I’m 32, have always been single (never been on a date even), and am now living alone since my close-as-a-twin sister got married and moved away 4 months ago. I had an unusual upbringing - home educated in the sticks, and while we did socialise it was always but always in family groups. I had my first friend who was MY friend aged 24... It took me years to learn to be an individual rather than just being part of a family group, and now I find myself more of an individual than I would like. I do have a couple of kind friends and Zoom-colleagues, but they have their own lives which really don’t include me and I usually feel I’m an interruption even though they try to include me when I butt in.

So cuppy-people, for the sake of a weirdo ambivert who never really learnt how to make friends, how can I

1) find and create friendship/s which doesn’t leave me feeling lonelier than ever from the effort (bonus points if I can also find a significant other somewhere along the way haha)

2) embrace the season of solo - what ways can I have fun by myself? As I’ve been home-working during Covid, outside-the-house ideas are preferable but open to any suggestions - unadventurous me who lives in a small country town could use some help!!