Communication

Communication is a key component of any relationship, from classmate to spouse. It is an essential part of life. Without effective communication, couples break up, group projects fall onto the One Person Who Cares™, and long time friendships end. Despite its utmost importance, communication often fails partially to impairment. Communication takes many forms, including verbal, written, and physical. When someone is impaired, or limited, in a communication form, they must work overtime to get their point across in an accurate and understandable manner via that format. Impairment can be caused through various means, including physical issues, abuse, trauma, and learned behaviors.

I doubt people would say I have a communication impairment but I've learned how to deflect it. If you listen to me, you'll notice what I talk and don't talk about. Through traumas, abuse, and learned behaviors, I became a writer. It was the only way I felt that I could safely express myself without being judged, silenced, or forced to defend myself. I'm very protective of my writing, only posting, showing, or reading out loud a select few I'm comfortable sharing. I have some that, if you knew of them, would cause you to ask who hurt me because you'd see deeply into my struggles, depressions, and hurts. Writing is safe for me. Speaking is not.

If you listen to my speech, you'd hear I joke about various things. Humor is sometimes a deflection and distraction mechanism. You may notice there are topics I don't bring up. If I never mention it, it's more likely to appear as if doesn't exist. If I struggle to talk about something, as in, I genuinely lack words to say (and that's easy to tell), it's something that hits deeply and I have guarded off, lest I am hurt again because I dared to speak my mind and emotions. I will not reach out when struggling because it means being vulnerable and getting cut down again.

So to you to whom I open and allow inside my world, you're special to me. And if I struggle to tell you something, I'm working on it. It may take time, but I'm trying.