– by Kelly Parker
People think they know you after they’ve seen you naked. But I don’t think that’s true. Sure, they know what you look like- bare as the day you were born- but they don’t truly know you. They don’t know that you stare into space and your eyes glaze over when the darkness inside you starts to overtake the light. They don’t know that you fidget with your necklace when your heart constricts your lungs and it beats faster than a hummingbird’s wings. And do they know that you make self-deprecating jokes to convince everyone you’re okay (and it works except for those who really know you)? What about the fact that you nervous laugh and shut yourself off from everyone because you don’t want them to worry? No, they don’t know these things because you hide them deep below the surface, two miles down where there is no light. Only those who care to dive down will find them. You see, people don’t really know you when they’ve seen your physical attributes- dark brown hair, ocean blue eyes, fair skin with a smattering of freckles across your face and arms. What everyone is searching for is to be understood, for someone to finish their sentences and memorize their “tells” that expose their inner thoughts. With the people who truly understand me, I could be wearing a snowsuit but the second someone sees through that facade I’ve put on- that costume with a permanent smile- I am naked, exposed. When you are naked and exposed people often think they know you, but if they don’t understand you, see what makes you tick, well then they never really knew you at all, did they?
