secrets

This is a really simple sentiment, but a poignant one. It inexplicably stings when someone close withholds or omits pieces of the truth from the picture, no matter what their reason or excuse. What's funny about the whole thing is that it doesn't seem like it should nettle so insistently - it seems like something that's easy to shrug off - and yet, it does. Insecurity, hurt, jealousy, suspicion, and paranoia can all mount to dangerous levels when we feel like someone isn't telling us the whole truth, especially when that someone is near and dear.

Besides remembrances of outright lying, I think it's probably tough to pinpoint an instance where you held back little bits of information about yourself, just to keep someone from grasping the complete picture of who you are. That's because it's involuntary; it's a reflexive way to defend yourself from whoever you think might end up hurting you once they're savvy to your complete identity.

It's odd that we can be so afraid of revealing something that isn't really a secret at all - who we are.