I still explain myself before anyone asks me to

Dear Delyara, I hear it happen and still struggle to stop. The extra sentence. The softer version. The clarification before there has even been confusion. The need to prevent misunderstanding before it arrives. It is such a well-practised reflex in me that it can almost pass for personality if I’m not paying attention. But it isn’t personality. It’s old protection. And it leaves me tired because it means even normal honesty often arrives carrying extra work for no reason other than history. I want to speak more directly than that. I’m not there yet.