Two days ago, I went out with a cute guy near my university. I was really excited about the date because he is really cute, but I was also incredibly nervous! Why did I have such trepidation? The answer wasn’t that I was worried I’d lose him - I barely knew him! It was that I didn’t want such an attractive individual to dislike me. Because of my anxiety and insecurity, I ended up thinking I’d screwed up the date. At least I had been honest about who I was. We hugged and parted ways.
But why did I care so much? He was just some rando, albeit a cute rando, who I would probably never see again outside of Facebook. It wasn’t as if he would see everything about me on the first date.
I was scared to be told that I wasn’t worth someone else’s affection.
Just a sample of anything can give you the wrong impression.
That led me to an eye-opening experience. Oprah might call it an “aha moment”. No matter what happened on the date, no matter how traumatic or embarrassing, no one can judge my worth. Not on a date, not on a trip, not even after years of friendship.
I was hiding from myself. We all hide things from our closest friends and companions. Sexual desires, things we hate and our weaknesses are among the most common skeletons in our closets. Let’s show them off! We’ll feel so much better once we let others know our secrets.
Try sharing a secret with someone today. Talk to a stranger today! Get acquainted with someone new today.
Show yourself! You may find that people with like you for who you are - within reason.
And guess what? That rando, albeit a cute rando, texted me asking for another date that same night. You never know what could happen!