I'll be as expressive as possible in this letter. I'm learning to do that these days and it's been paying off.
I grew up in an environment where I was forced to believe that what I had to say doesn't matter. "When elders are discussing, you don't interfere", they say. No matter how relevant it is to the conversation, you just have to keep quiet.
That made it hard for me to share things with people. I got comfortable with bottling things up rather than sharing.
Because I felt it doesn't matter anyways. I felt like there's no point sharing.
I know they might not know it did that to me, but it doesn't change the fact that their actions affected me.
That's to tell you that your actions and inactions can positively or negatively affect someone else badly. So, you should be careful.
My friends, especially female friends, find it easy to share things with me because I listen to them. I'm a good listener, but I just don't know how to share.
And anytime someone genuinely cares about me & is interested in knowing about me, I feel like the person is badgering me. And I shut the person out.
However, I thank God for the gift of men. These people never gave up. They kept showing up and making me understand that it's okay for the strong and funny friend to be Vulnerable. That there's no big deal in therapists needing therapy.
This year started very rough for me and thank God for the good people around me, it's getting better.
They helped me get out of my shell and feel okay to share things with them. I wasn't just being honest, I was vulnerable.
Honesty is you telling someone the truth. Vulnerability is you giving the person the chance to see into you. To see beyond what you're telling him/her. At least, that's how I see it.
So, I'm saying to you, it's okay for the strong, funny, playful (or any other adjective that applies to you) friend to be vulnerable.
Vulnerability is beautiful. It doesn't mean you're weak, it just makes you understand that sometimes you can push through things, you just can't do it alone. You need your village.
I've been sharing things with the right people and I've been feeling more peaceful since I started doing that.
Once again, it's okay for the strong friend to be Vulnerable.
I almost forgot, how're you doing? How have you been? You can write back to me. I'll like to hear from you.
Till when next I write to you,
Stay Strategic About Your View Of Life.
This piece is just so beautiful, Strategy is really doing a great work!
This is beautiful.