Perhaps we are all seeking attention without embarrassment, connection without vulnerability.

So instead, my only option to be loved is to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known. To wear my heart on my digital sleeve, a proverbial sleeve that’s threads are made up of a sum of all of my writing, social media accounts, in-person interactions, and more, not just a curated feed of minimum viable story filled with dopamine-inducing 280... See more

If being ignored hollows us out, then being truly seen (not liked, not followed, not “engaged with”) but seen, can feel almost unbearable. Because while we claim to crave attention, many of us are silently terrified of what it might uncover. What if someone looks too closely and sees the neediness we have camouflaged as chill? The resentment we... See more