From a “perfect life” to complete silence anyone else feel this shift?

23M

5 years ago, when I was in school/college, life felt… effortless.

I grew up in Saudi Arabia. My father had multiple businesses, we were financially stable, and I genuinely believed I had the “perfect” home. Support was always there, no pressure, no real worries. I thought this was how life would always be stable parents, comfort, a strong sense of belonging.

Then everything changed.

Around 3 years ago, my father moved back to Pakistan. Things between my parents started getting complicated. Every day felt heavy arguments, tension, emotional chaos.

Until one day, they separated.

And the hardest part?

Neither of them kept me.

My father was straightforward about it.

My mother told me to stay at my aunt’s place said she’d call me back. She never did.

I know she loves me, I know she cares, but for whatever reason… I just didn’t fit into her life anymore.

That broke something in me.

I went from having a “home” to feeling like I don’t belong anywhere.

But at the same time, something else happened.

Maybe survival mode kicked in. Maybe I matured too fast.

I was doing well that time after that I focus more on money, investing, building skills. I’m now a CS student at COMSATS isb working, earning six figures, managing my own expenses. I own a car, have invested in property, and from the outside… I look stable. Even successful for my age.

But inside? It’s different.

I’ve been living alone for 3 years now. No real friends not because I can’t make them, but because I see through people too quickly. The fakeness, the intentions… it’s hard to ignore once you notice it.

So I just stay to myself. Build. Work. Grow.

But there’s this silence.

This emptiness.

Sometimes I see someone with their parents just normal moments and it hits me in a way I can’t explain. It’s not jealousy, it’s more like… a deep reminder of something I lost.

That feeling of “home.”

I don’t talk about this in real life. I handle myself. I stay composed.

But yeah… sometimes it gets heavy.

Anyone else went from having everything emotionally… to building everything alone?