This is what they say, but it never was that way for me. Surely the reason the writers would have Clark get choked up over his loss was to play upon our emotions so we could relate to him more. And it didn't seem all that alien back then. They also complain that Krypton didn't look alien enough, that it was too Buck Rogers, too much like Earth. But that's why Krypton worked for me, because it was an analogy--it was supposed to be Earth-like and the Kryptonians were supposed to be essentially human. Otherwise, they would have all been bug-eyed monsters and the planet would look like something drawn by Moebius.
They don't seem capable of thinking along the lines of an analogy. Superman's experience is relatable because there are a lot of people who are displaced. And just ask indigenous people, people of colour, what it's like to be raised in a white home where you're kept from knowing about your roots and you aren't able to learn your hereditary language. The beauty of the Kents is that they never taught Clark to hate his heritage, they were the biggest fans of Krypton and his alien roots. It's testament to them that he was able to celebrate both worlds and feel good in doing so.
I loved the Superboy comics a little bit more than the Superman comics when I first started reading them as a kid, because I could relate to this boy's struggles and that feeling that all children have that they don't fit in and they don't know who they are or what they are here for. Of course, there were always those stories where Clark felt like he had to leave home. I could relate to that too, because as a little boy I would often "run away from home." Not really, since I never got very far down the block before I turned back.