I enjoyed reading this Adrian, and it is obvious you are a very grounded person and comfortable in your own skin. You also have values you stick to, and won’t be forced into straying from those.
I am similar. I get on with most people. When at school many were divided into the “smart” academic group, or the “cool” sporty group. I fit into both, I was in the top five or six academically, but excelled at sport … so I had friends in both groups. The hard part was they sometimes made fun of each other, but I think I helped improve that situation.

I can also relate to having friends who hated one another. I would have to tell them, I didn’t want to hear any griping or complaints about the other in my presence, because I was friends with both.

Thank you for sharing this.