(recycled from may 12, 09)

After a long talk with a close friend, this is what I've determined...

98% of the people you meet will never truly know who you are. They’ll never have an accurate depiction of the person you are, they may capture a glimpse of who you want to be, or who you pretend to be. But it takes a true friend who knows your past, present, hidden thoughts and late-night epiphanies to understand who you are at your core. They know your best, your worst and your most obscure plans. They understand the thoughts that most cast aside as insane. They support the plans that most deem out of reach. They laugh at what most would see as immature and they cry with you when most wouldn’t understand.

And the rest? They absorb a skewed view of what you choose to project when you’re around them. They see the clothes you choose to wear and hear the thoughts that make it through your filter. The rest don’t quite get a feel for true opinions. The rest can’t comprehend what truly makes you happy and what hurts you the most. Image is everything and the surface is hardly ever broken.

I’ll never believe anyone who says they are completely themselves at all times, because I know that’s impossible. Everyone cares about what others think at some point, and everyone changes and everyone acts out without reason.

Thank God for the 2% who understand. Whether they’re a best friend, significant other or close family member, they’re what keep us, us. Because when we run around like floaters we know we’ve got that stability to rely on. We can be whoever we want when we meet new people and we can hide our past from them, but we know that we’ve got that 2% who truly know us.