and if you’re like me and are someone who overexplains yourself, appreciates reassurance, values clarity, and genuinely wants mutual understanding in relationships… that realization hurts. because we keep trying to communicate better, explain deeper, reword ourselves differently, and give people the benefit of the doubt thinking eventually they’ll understand where we’re coming from. but I’ve learned some people aren’t actually trying to understand you. they’re trying to protect their ego, avoid accountability, defend themselves, or control the narrative they already have in their head about you. and those are the kinds of relationships that leave you emotionally exhausted because no matter how clearly you communicate, you still walk away misunderstood. but I’ve also had experiences that showed me there ARE people who value you enough to meet you in the middle. people who ask questions and listen for YOUR answer instead of assuming. people who care about your true intent instead ...