Getting to know people as an adult is hard. There’s so much bet hedging and fear of saying the wrong thing along with a heavy dose of guardedness against vulnerability. When I was a kid, heck, really until the last couple years, I had no problem telling anybody anything. I was an open book, and although that’s its own sort of defense mechanism, I miss being able to leap into conversations and go deep. I was thinking about truth or dare, a childhood exercise in emotional bravery masquerading as a sleepover game. I always chose truth and hoped people would ask me really messy, weird questions.
I’ve had a very depressive year, and the first thing that goes when I’m low is my instinctive ability to connect with people. It never feels quite worth the anxiety, you know? But I’ve been trying harder lately — reaching out to friends I’ve lost touch with, writing online, and engaging in small talk out in the great wide world. It’s pretty simple, really, and yet so damn hard. My therapist says I have to. Who am I to argue?
As we crawl our weary way into the weekend, do you want to play truth or dare with me? I’m serious. Let’s get a little vulnerable. What’s a secret you don’t usually talk about? What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done? What questions do you want to ask me an each other? You can go as deep or silly (or both) as you want. Or you can just tell me about your week and show me pictures of your dog! In fact, I DARE YOU to show me pictures of your dog (and then submit to the Queer IRL gallery!).
See you in the comments! I’m excited to be weird with you.
How To Post A Photo In The Comments:
Find a photo on the web, right click (on a Mac, control+click), hit “Copy Image URL” and then…
code it in to your comment like so:
If you need to upload the photo you love from your computer, try using imgur. To learn more about posting photos, check out Ali’s step-by-step guide.
How To Post A Video In The Comments, Too:
Find a video on YouTube or Vimeo or WHATEVER and click “embed.” Copy that code, paste it, you’re good to go!
