Till a few years ago, you shared healthy bonds with people. They only had an outline about you. As time passed, the outline turned into a full image. An image which did not represent you, but their own thoughts and feelings about you. Afterall, how people paint has less to do with the person in question and more to do with the colours they can see. And there's not a lot you can do when others are colour blind.
When you've been in someone's life too long, they start to think that they know exactly how you are. But are you who you were yesterday? Did you grow up to be as timid as you were in school? Are you as closed off as you were in college?
They tend to be dismissive of whatever progress you make personally. No wonder it leads to conflicts. Their attitude seems cavalier. They come across as dissuading. When they talk about your change, you find it perplexing. Maybe you grew in a way they could not anticipate, so does it automatically become a bad thing?
You could overstep your own boundaries just to be there for them and they might not even notice. You'd still find them complaining about your shortcomings and lack of expression.
So who do you turn to when all those who know you, refuse to acknowledge the growth? Who do you turn to, when the people close to you find it hard to accept this change?
You turn in on yourself, a natural corollary. And somewhere down the line, you discover that on days when you feel like your heart is sinking, even the words of a stranger could act as a life boat. You're grateful, even if it's for a little while. You realise that expecting everything from a select few is setting yourself up for disappointment. There's no key that fits every lock and it's not a bad thing to wait till you find your bunch.