Hi everyone... I have been really active on the forums lately. I am getting back out of a setback and venting here seems to help a lot.

I have a technically-challenging job and the people I work with, especially my boss, are nothing like me. I am young, female and outgoing (despite a serious history and occassional relapses of anxiety), but the people around me are older, male and make work their entire life. How can I get along with these people (since I like the actual content of my work) and not care so much that they don't want to be buddy-buddy? What I'm really looking for is advice on not letting my work define who I am, even though I depend on this job to pay for my comfortable lifestyle. Any insights?