I have to admit that in my senior years I have put myself out there in ways I would have never done when I was younger. Many of my old buddies will now say hello and politley go about what they were doing while I have developed a whole new set of friendships that I enjoy much more anyway.
People who get to know me accept that I’m off-putting, does that count?
As I’ve aged I’ve learned to apply humor and charm to being odd and negative, and generally people seem to like me, they just don’t understand where I’m coming from, unless they are also depressed and weird.
I don’t know when I became so grown up and mature, but here I am. My office reviews regularly rate me as the calm one, that never gets stressed out. My coworkers come to me for advice and assistance.
But I like maintaining a small distance between them. I like being a little aloof. The only person I show my authentic self to, all the time, without filters, is my SO. Everyone else gets pieces of me.
That being said, yes, I feel accepted.
It’s honestly not something I ever think about, so, I guess so? I mean, I get the question, but I don’t get it. I’m gonna do me, you do whatever you want. It’s not like I could alter the facts of my being to suit your tastes, even if I were willing, and I am very not willing.
What is the fear of, exactly? Especially for people you meet for the first time? Who cares? That person was not in your life before today! Maybe they’re in your life tomorrow, maybe not. There are other people.
Absolutely not.
I’m not sure I would want to feel that way. It sounds kind of creepy.
I expect to be treated completely neutrally unless there is some sort of extraordinary circumstance.
How does that work? Did they come up to you like “what are you some kind of hoser…eh?” and then apologize?