Welcome to America. Fortunes are made exploiting that feeling in this country.

Seriously, though, I used to have that feeling all the time. A big part of it was that I didn't know what I wanted, or what I was missing. I spent several years of dedicated time trying to figure out just that. Taking philosophy classes at the end of my navel gazing stint helped round off my theories but I wouldn't necessarily recommend that approach.

Basically, I think most people need balance in their lives in certain areas like family, friends, work, romance, projects, health, and entertainment. These categories are totally off the top of my head and the proportions vary widely by person but there seems to be a minimum amount necessary for happiness. Finding those baseline levels is up to you.

When I was super unhappy and missing something, all I knew was that I wanted to be happy but I didn't know what that looked like. When the unhappiness reached its boiling point I started trying things I totally sucked at in order to stretch my possibilities.

The first big one was making friends. I spent about a year working on making friends and bonding with my family. I spent the next year trying to figure out how to back away gracefully from all the entanglements I'd managed to make with the crazy ones. Not all friends/family are good for your mental health, and quality is way better than quantity. However, generating that quantity in the first place helped me learn the important lessons about quality...

I also started working on fitness. This is a really important one that's easy to miss, especially if you look normal from the outside. Poor diet fucks with your emotional, mental, and physical health. Exercise produces endorphins and all kinds of other yummy good feelings in the body. I'm basically a lazy person at heart and this is still the hardest thing for me to actually do something about. It takes a tremendous effort of will and perseverance to just Do Something to get my body moving. I totally failed today and went straight from bed to computer to couch back to computer. Persistence is key. Tomorrow I'll go for a hike. Outside. Without a computer.

Having a purpose, talent, or passion with something to look forward to is also tremendously helpful. Don't worry if you don't have one yet, you're really young still. But give yourself permission now to truly CARE about the things you care about. That passion will get you through a lot in years to come. Figure out what you really wanna do if you didn't have to support yourself for a living and then pursue it on the side. Hobbies are major, and if you pick the right ones, stand a decent chance of putting you in a situation where you could meet other people (ie, possible friends) with similar interests.

Diversity is way hot. I fell for my guy after googling him and finding his interests ranging from fire and algorithms to bondage and ballroom dancing - none of which I knew how to do but found enormously impressive nonetheless. Stand out by allowing yourself to do what interests you without fear of what anyone thinks. It should eventually pay off in one way or another, even if it just means you are more comfortable in your own skin.