when being liked feels safer than being known 🎭🤍

Being liked is easier than being known. Liked-you is polished. Funny at the right time. Chill. Helpful. Not too needy. Not too angry. Always kind of okay 🎭 Known-you is messier. Has opinions. Gets hurt. Needs reassurance. Has weird fears and old wounds and days where the vibe is simply not cute.

No wonder you perform sometimes 😭 Performance protects you from rejection, but it also blocks love from reaching the real place. If someone likes the version of you that never needs anything, that can feel good for a while, but it's lonely. So maybe don't rip the mask off all at once. Just loosen it. Tell one truth. Say one preference. Admit one tiredness. Let someone safe see a slightly less edited you 🤍 The right people won't run from your humanity. And if some do, painful as it is, maybe they were only attached to the costume. You deserve love that recognizes your face underneath 🌙