334 Comments
User's avatar
Jellypescado's avatar

loved every single word

Simran's avatar

having been a people pleaser my whole life, i had to unlearn so much after getting into my first ever relationship at 22 years old

niata p's avatar

I love this! this was a great read. I'm curious about how much the biological need for community and survival plays a role in this and also whether we can truly evolve beyond that survival instinct..

Cha's avatar

"You can't be legible to everyone without erasing yourself to someone, and usually that someone is you"

I've been sitting with this line.

I spent years making myself smaller so people could understand me faster, and what I lost in the process was the only version of myself worth understanding. Thank you for writing this.

Aishwarya Krishnaswamy's avatar

Omg 😦 … I ABSOLUTELY needed to read this. Thank you so much

Logan's avatar

The true problem being the fear of being misunderstood instead of the misunderstanding itself really got me.

I have also realized that there a ton of people whose authenticity is better for the world even if it doesn’t align with who I am. Their opposing traits and beliefs can provide inspiration, better handle challenges that don’t fit my skillset, and are a great source of learning.

JE's avatar

I think that's called getting older, and therefore no longer mattering to the scenesters and profiteers, and also suddenly too tired to give a flying f**k about anyone imposing anything on you anymore.

Jessica's avatar

Look at all us dysfunctional little kindred spirits in the comment section, dropping the mask and not apologizing!

Cheers to not being everyone’s cup of tea ☕️

The Stoic Letter's avatar

we are all unique it should be embraced more. Love this

Patty Torres's avatar

love this. thank u for ur work 🫶🏻

Elias Wolflamb's avatar

There’s a strange peace in finally choosing to be real.

Heather Clark's avatar

Great piece. The struggle of chasing likeability and the resentment that accompanies is a truth that’s hard to accept but so real!

Sreejani Ghosh's avatar

Exactly what inspired me to start my own Substack. My real feelings turned into stories and essays.

https://sreejanighosh.substack.com/p/the-world-is-round

Let's Get Clear's avatar

There is something liberating about being unique.