I will talk it through, I will give context, I will gently reframe — I genuinely enjoy the process of two people figuring each other out through honest conversation. That's not a flaw. I like that about myself.

But I had to learn — and it took longer than I'd like to admit — that explanation only works when the other person is actually listening. When they've already constructed a version of you in their head and decided it's final, you can talk until your voice gives out and you'll only be adding words to a wall 💛

So I stopped. Not bitterly — genuinely, I harbour no bitterness about it 😊 I just… redirected that energy. Toward people who ask follow-up questions. Toward conversations that go somewhere. Toward anyone who meets me with a little curiosity instead of a conclusion.

I believe there are people out there who will receive you as you actually are, not as what's most convenient for them to assume. I've met some of them. They exist in numbers that give me hope.

Does letting go of the need to convince everyone actually make you more yourself, or does it just take a while to feel that way?