Thin skin and free speech
As the years go by, something curious is happening to me: I'm becoming more sensitive and, at the same time, more unable to stay silent.
We were always told that growing older meant becoming wiser, more reserved or perhaps harder. But in my case, it's the opposite. I feel like the layers that protected me have been coming undone. A film, an honest conversation or an injustice now touch me much deeper than before. I feel more vulnerable, yes, as if I'm going through the world with thinner skin.
But what's really new is that I just can't keep quiet anymore.
Those thoughts that I used to swallow before to avoid upsetting anyone, for "politeness" or fear of what people would say, now come out on their own. It's not a desire to pick fights, it's simply that I don't have the energy to carry half-truths anymore.
Sometimes I feel misunderstood. It seems the world doesn't know what to do with someone who shows themselves to be fragile but tells you things as they think them, without filters. As if sensitivity and bluntness couldn't go hand in hand.
Maybe that's what growing old is:
- Learning that vulnerability is not weakness, but humanity.
- Understanding that staying silent to please others is a prison too small.
- Accepting that, even though not everyone understands you, living from your truth is the only way to breathe easy.
"I've learned that being honest is not throwing stones, but building bridges. Assertiveness has taught me that I can be firm with my truth and, at the same time, gentle with the person in front of me. It's not about being right at any cost, but about not losing myself while I try to understand you."
More sensitive, more vulnerable and much more free.