Allowing yourself to be vulnerable can be a very difficult thing. At least it has been for me. That being said, I find that I regularly make the choice to write about personal experiences that expose my vulnerability because I hope, somewhere deep down inside, that in doing so it will help someone else who may be going through a similar struggle.
I've been taking baby steps though. It has been easy for me to write about about getting fired from a job or being rejected from another one. I've written many pieces, over many years, but I haven't ever truly touched on the experiences that have actually made me who I am. The moments in my life that could have thrown me completely off balance, but because of some miracle or another didn't, and somehow I found the strength to go on. In full disclosure, I honestly believe it's because I was meant to share them- I can't think of any other purpose beyond that.
The darkest corners of my mere thirty years are the ones that have really given me an opportunity to fully acknowledge the pain and suffering that accompany the gift of life. I know this because of the people I've met or admired that have had the courage to share publicly the realities of what they have been through. They are the ones who have given me the courage to embrace my own vulnerability and hopefully encourage others to do so as well.
The people who have opened up in a way that made me feel like it's okay to make mistakes, it's okay to be sad, and it's okay to not have the answers to whatever problem it is you're trying to solve; the people who understand that nobody is perfect, that most of us can not handle, or mishandle, or get completely engulfed by our pain-- those people are the reason why I am able to conjure up the strength to share my painful experiences and embrace the opportunity to do so.
While it is unapologetically easy to fool yourself into thinking that you are the only person going through whatever pain you are experiencing, it is imperative that you remind yourself- this experience is not singular to me.
This is not a Public Service Announcement. I am the last person to pretend I know what's good for the masses, let alone myself. But what I do know is that if other people hadn't allowed themselves to open up to me, I never would have found the courage to do the same, or recognized the value in allowing yourself to be vulnerable.