Even Amidst Great Pain, Caring still Matters

[unspeakablehorror]

I've always been an extreme introvert, but I had a lot more social anxiety when I was younger. I thought 'trying to reach out to people or make friends is too dangerous--people are unpredictable and it must hurt when relationships go badly--better for me to just avoid all that'. 

And the thing is, I wasn't wrong about that hurting. It will always hurt. Every time. But I was wrong to think that an adequate reason to avoid reaching out to others or making friends at all. Trying to reach out to others matters, even when things don't work out in the end. And not every friendship will fail.

I'm not a person who requires much, socially. But I am also not a person who exists in a void. I need others, and they need me. And that is reason enough for me to care what goes on beyond my own life and experiences. Enough for me to do what I can for others.

And maybe that's not much.

But it still matters.