Over the years, I have built walls that are taller than Mt. Everest and with more protection than using birth control, condoms, and the pull out method. Under rare circumstances (too many drinks, PMS, or sex brain), I have let my walls down and practiced the rather simple yet convoluted task of opening up. Similar to the "opening up" you do for a strep culture or a Pap smear, I have determined that emotional transparency leaves you just as vulnerable and uncomfortable.
While a bit dramatic and overgeneralized, I have discovered that with emotional transparency comes two fundamental responses: the "there are people who have gone through worse" comments and the "you're doing so well considering.." comments. (Ironic because neither result is as definitive as my recent STD test.) The ambiguity of these responses leaves me to wonder what we hope for in opening up to people. Do we seek the validation that our woes outweigh other peoples? Better yet, is opening up a determinant of maturity, as if when you do you are suddenly deemed emotionally stable enough to be an adult? Is it a profound maturity that allows us to recognize that other people simply cannot understand our problems to the fullest extent, or is it a profound immaturity that we feel our problems somehow surpass other people's intellectual caliber?
Is emotional opening up just as important as scheduling those annual physical exams?
I'll let you know when I figure it out, you do the same.
Perpetually Single,
Leah
(and Binny)
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