Be Strong For Them, Be Soft For Him

Don’t feel like reading? Listen instead. *My voice is still not 100%. 🤒

Being a woman of several achievements I have to maintain a strong presence in front of people, but I also have to show softness because….I am a woman. But you have to be selective with who you show your vulnerabilities to. You don’t want to get into a situation where you shown all your vulnerabilities to someone and they turn it against you to make themselves look better. You never know who has your best interest at heart or who even really is sharing their heart with you. Of course I'm talking about men in this regard. I’ve published many topics on what I want from a man and although most men may fit the standard they become complacent after some time and forget all the things they did you catch your interest. 😒

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The last man I was involved with, we would sort of phase in and out with each other for over a span of many years and there were at least 2 points where we were really into each other like investing into what we both like and wanting to see each other and that was when we first met which was very unexpected because neither one of us anticipated keeping in touch for so long and the second time was when we reconnected after not speaking for a period of time. We would have our highlight moments and our mellow moments and I can admit there were definitely times when I was extremely vulnerable with him especially when there was a point where I had to make a decision that affected both of us and I was almost in pieces during that time. A lot of people don’t know or have never known my weakness or seen any or all of my weak moments, not even to my family. — Now that I’m really sit here and think about those times, it’s like, “What the fck was I doing?” 😵 Because that is always a concern of mine is letting someone see my vulnerabilities and fearing that they treat it like it’s nothing. But you know what? I do not regret showing him my weaknesses and being vulnerable to him in different ways because at those times, I felt completely comfortable with him, I trusted him, and I believed in him. And even though we are no longer involved in the same way now, we are civil, and regardless of what he thinks of me, I’m okay with him knowing that part of me because he was who I was sharing myself with at that time.

I told a friend that I don’t know how to act when I bring the “girls” out.

This is why I do not treat sex as just sex. I am allowing you into my life, I’m sharing my time with you, my personal space, my thoughts, my visions, my moods, my whole personality. I can’t just close off parts of me and still let you sleep with me. I can close myself off to others because they are not experiencing me the same way. Where I may have to maintain a certain persona for others, I should be able to let my guard down to someone I’m intimate with, right? Who I am in my professional life, my work life, my family life, and even my social life is different that who I am as a lover. I want to be able to relax around someone and not feel like I still have to maintain a rock exterior because he doesn’t want to embrace my softer side.

Ladies, you don’t want someone who wants you to fit his mold, you want to show your softness to someone who doesn’t have a mold. Someone who knows your day was shitty and still finds a way to make you laugh or feel better in some way. You don’t want someone who dismisses your vulnerabilities, but yet still expects you to understand when they’re feeling low. I told you earlier the last man I was with we were very much into each other in the beginning, talking to each other frequently, excited to see each other and would just completely enjoy each other. This is how you want it with someone, but not just in the beginning, you want it throughout the whole duration of your time together. You want someone who still shows they care after the first few weeks or months, for instance, I’ve been under the weather the last few days, I would have loved for a man to come bring me food or warm up my comforter or even simply asked if I needed anything just to make me feel better. I love it when a man wants to be present for me…I mean he’ll need to fight past my initial refusal for help, but after he conquers that, he may as well just go ahead an conquer me.I’ll admit it, I’m on some bs when it comes to asking for help or saying I need someone. I’m working on it, never said I was perfect. 🥺

No, it won’t be rainbows and sunshine everyday with someone, I’m sure I’ve said that before, but if you both make it a point to clear the clouds for each other, then being vulnerable with that person should feel natural, don’t fight it. I had to learn this: when you avoid opening up and not showing your softer side to someone who wants to care, it can cause people to become closed off to you. So you don’t want to be destructive and block your blessings by feeling like you still have to be strong when you have someone who is willing to hold you when you’re not.

I want to end with this thought: Sometimes what we want isn’t what we need and I think this is a lesson we just keep having to learn because with what we want, it is what motivates us and pushes us; what we want is a goal, but what we need tends to humble us, keeps us grounded, and reminds us that we don’t have to be so hard all the time. And if you think about it, sometimes the people we butt heads with the most are the people who are more like us. Either that, or it’s people who want us to be our best and tries to get us out of our comfort zones, but we keep going back and forth with them because we don’t want to go out of our comfort zones.

I embrace every year that I age. I’m so happy I didn’t get into any drugs or smoking, or damaged my organs, and that I took care of my skin because I have seen people younger than me look like they surpass me by at least 10 years. And I love a man who appreciates a woman aging gracefully.

Sometimes people can see when we are not living up to who they know we can be, those are the people who pay attention to us. I tend to question my friends when I see them doing things or surrounding themselves with people who don’t highlight their best traits. One of my friends has people around him that he has know for a few years and I’m not too keen on them, I don’t really share my opinion on it because he considers them as friends and he has fun with them and that’s great, but I do feel like those people kind of drain him and I know people who have known him for 15 plus years and they are the caliber of people who can attest to his character because they’ve been around him and seen him in many scenarios. Although, those fun, free-loving people are cool to pass the time with, there is a limit to how much we allow them into our lives. No matter what type of a connection I may have with someone, if they don’t have the same types of things going on in their lives that I have to account for or be responsible of, then there is only but so much I can relate with them.

Friends should not have to tiptoe around each other when we are making questionable moves. I want you to be great because I know you can be better than what your are showing me right now. — No reason to get upset or defensive with people when they are just trying to open up to you because they see something that isn’t good for you, they are just trying to look out for you because they care. So in this sense, allow people who care about you to point out your vulnerabilities and weaknesses because they just want you to be the best you can possibly be.


Two Sides to a Coin

Two thoughts…..

  1. People notice what they’ve done, but do not acknowledge when others do the same.

  2. People notice what others do, but do not acknowledge when they do the same.

The first one I think can be regarded when people do something in consideration for others like sending thoughtful messages or doing things that makes someone else’s life a little more pleasing. In a domestic sense, we can even say doing household chores without being asked is something we notice when we do it, but do not very much acknowledge it when others do it. The second one could be regarded when people do things we don’t like, but we do not acknowledge it when we do things others do not like. For instance when we notice people being argumentative, but when we are doing the same we justify it as “trying to make a point”. It’s easier for us to point out what we do not like about others, but fail to notice our own flaws. I know we are all guilty of this.

None of us ever likes to admit our faults, but if we are expecting others to admit theirs shouldn’t we lead by example? Yet, then again this goes back to thought #1. It’s a human cycle of underlying selfishness that we don’t like to think about, but the reality is, we subconsciously want people to make us comfortable without always considering how to make others comfortable because that would mean making ourselves uncomfortable — and not everyone is willing to do that.

Just think on it, your relationships with others, how many of them were you willing to adjust your comfort levels for? Why? And did or do those people adjust their comfort levels for you or have you even noticed?

I have a bad habit of saying everything is fine when it’s not and I know I’m not the only one who does this. — This is me not wanting to ask people to make themselves uncomfortable in order to make me comfortable. When someone tells me, “Let me prove it to you” in an attempt to convince me of a changed mindset or behavior, I tend to automatically respond, “No, it’s fine.” or “You don’t have to do that.”, when really, YES, I want you to prove it to me. YES, I want to see a change. I am more forgiving when I see a difference in someone that shows they are aware of what went awry and have decided to implement nuanced manners. Although, I also notice when people make no attempts of change. Ultimately, we just want to be happy without having to do too much and when we do too much we can become unhappy because we feel others aren't doing the same or don’t notice all of what we are doing.

On another note, I graduated…again. It’s always a great feeling when you reach a new goal and new level in life and an even greater feeling when people show their love and support for you.

Thank you to all those who reached out to me in celebration. You have no idea what that means to me and how grateful I am. The majority of you don't even know me personally, but have found camaraderie with me through all these many words that sometimes make sense and invoke intrinsic thoughts and other times just…is. — That's what I love about this.


*This is a fallacy. Men don’t do this anymore. They expect you to come find them. They have unlearned all the great things of chivalry and dominance and have learned to behave more like women. I thought men were supposed to be the strong confident ones who pursue a woman. But I guess there are so many women who make easy for men to do so little that they don’t feel they should make much of an effort. -- That’s not a man for me.