I Want Others to Accept Me For Who I Am

Showing my true self has never gone well. People are not accepting, as a rule. It is a rarity to find someone with understanding, a big heart, and the capacity to accept differences. It is not their fault, most are trained and taught to fit in, to conform, to be normal. I was too. I know how to act. I know what to say and do. I know what to hide. I know what is acceptable. It is only online that I have found others that are willing to say - I understand, you are not alone. Those are truly beautiful words. For no matter how strong we are, we all need to connect and belong.

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SolitaryFriend · 41-45, M

In the offline world our personalities are designed to put up masks until we can establish enough trust with someone in the right environment as to open up and start to have the intimacy to allow ourselves to share who we are. Being anonymous online trades a mask for a persona where you can be exactly who you want to be, as true to yourself as possible, so the environment is suited for people to embrace you for exactly who you are.

Online you're not conscious of people's mannerisms that show signs of how they're feeling and you're not concious of how you're being perceived beyond words, so that helps bring down boundaries. It's more ideal to initially find a kindred spirit.