My younger self would be so proud of me for finally being able to say, “I really want people to like me.” Those words sound and feel desperate as I read them back. But there is no desperation there. Just desire for connection and friendship.
I am a person who seeks and wants community. There is no crime in that and there is no desperation in that. It is the natural desire of humankind to be connected and I am just willing to admit it.
The new information for me is that fact that while I want that, I am unwilling to change myself or be a different person to gain another’s affection or love. I will just be me and people will love me or they won’t.
The younger me would just be glad to have that out in the open instead of it being a quiet longing backed by shame. 🙂