My friend let me arrive unedited

Dear Delyara, I spent time with someone this week and felt deeply relieved by how little performance was required. I didn’t have to be bright. Didn’t have to be especially articulate. Didn’t have to explain every mood with polished emotional intelligence. I could just arrive — a little slower, a little quieter, a little more mixed than usual — and still be welcome. That kind of friendship feels like emotional shelter to me now. The older I get, the more I understand that safe people are not the ones who always say perfect things. They are the ones who make less of your humanity.