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Vulnerability and Relationships
I’ve read many articles recently that highlighted the importance of being vulnerable in order to attain meaningful and deeper relationships. This is something I fully agree with because I experienced it a few years ago and it blew my mind. Today, I’m sharing a very vulnerable story about how the day I discovered the power of vulnerability.
I won’t bother you with too many details, but for the majority of my life, I’ve been really shy, not having a lot of friends — you could count them on the fingers of one hand — and having trouble making new connections. Speaking to someone new was hell on earth, I was terrified by any social interaction and speaking in public was just a nightmare. It was hard, but I was mostly keeping it to myself, because I’ve been raised as a man, and men should be strong and not display their emotions to others — I don’t believe this anymore; not sure I ever did.
After high school, I went to a mathematics school, then a Computer Science university, far from where I lived, having to leave my friends behind. That was a heartbreaking experience for me, and while I had some colleagues and companions of misfortunes where I did my studies, I never was able to make any new real friends. There is no one from that period that I still see today. It was a challenging time, I learnt a lot of skills for my job, but socially I was alone and unwell.
