Having trouble making friends in high school changed me. It made me compassionate to the outcast. It made me honest. Really honest. I was so scared of saying the wrong thing for most of my teenage years. I was scared people wouldn’t like me if I showed all of me. And then I realized hiding myself was doing me no favors.

As I grew I changed my tactic. I wish I could tell you when this happened. When I suddenly became aware that I needed to be ME over anything anyone else wanted or needed. I don’t know when. But I do know it helped me make some of my best friends.

I am weird. I think we all are but some of us hide it better than others. But we are likely doing a disservice to everyone by hiding our faults, our strangeness, our inadequacies. The kindest thing you can do is to show your flaws so those around you can embrace their own and gain courage to relate.

No we shouldn’t all sit around being a mess together. We can learn from each other. We can learn from others missteps or misunderstandings. What are you hiding? What are you scared of saying? It’s might just be what someone else is struggling with too. It might just be a confession that will allow a friendship to form.