Originally posted on FetLife in the Summer of 2017, today I was reminded that there are people in the world who don’t like me, and that’s okay. Because there are people in the world that I don’t like…and that’s okay too.
Dear people I don’t like,
This is not the first time I pen a message to you. It’s almost as though it happens monthly. I just try not to post them.
Now, you’re not people I hate. I don’t actually hate many people.
But there are a lot of people who I’m on friendly terms with that I really don’t like.And there are some with whom I’m not even on friendly terms that I really don’t like.
Guess what?
It doesn’t matter. My perception of you isn’t the yardstick by which you should measure your success in life, so it’s okay that I don’t like you. I don’t think you need my approval. I don’t think you should change the way you comport yourself to appease my own desire that everyone on the planet be likable by my standards
Guess what else?
My first impressions are not always correct. There are people I used to consider very close friends, people that I would have said that I loved (as friends) in the past that I barely speak with and actively avoid. There are people I used to try to be closer with that I no longer seek to create a connection with because they’ve shown something in their character that says to me “not necessary to be in your life.”
Did those people change? Not really. Maybe they did…but I wasn’t close enough to notice the difference.
Mostly I’m the one who changed, and the new me has different criteria for who I want hanging around me.
I’ve also been wrong in the other direction. There are people I used to not like so much that now I think might be pretty freakin’ cool. I think I was maybe wrong about them. Or maybe they changed too and now our personalities align better.
So here’s to you, people who make me frown. Go be you.
Over there.
Love,
phi
polyammering 