Other than starting at 7th grade your experiences are similar to my own. I went to college, worked, and now I've been working from home for 3 years. The problem is that I've always been bad at socializing so staying at home all the time isn't so much a step back as it is a no steps anywhere. Recently, I did some volunteering for a political campaign and I occasionally go out with friends. I also walk my dog a lot and sometimes subject other people to my awkwardness when I'm at the park. Social ineptitude has always been part of who I am so I can't really complain... Some ideas I can through out is joining meetups, joining a gym, doing volunteer work (let me know if you know how to do this cause I don't), doing political volunteering, or you can always join me in walking my dog if you live around me (half joking).