Pinky Swear...

Sometimes, there's a bride on "Say Yes to the Dress" who finds this seemingly perfect gown. Everyone cries, and the sales lady thinks she's made bank. But the bride stands there looking in the mirror, and something isn't right. The sales lady senses something fishy and talks the bride into confiding that there's maybe another dress on her mind that she saw the week before. The sales lady always comments that it would have just been better for the bride to be honest upfront so that the sales lady could base the appointment on all of the information.
I'm starting to think most people are like that bride. We're almost totally open but holding one card to our chests, just for ourselves, just in case. Someone asks us how we are, and we give a general, "good." I don't often hear people say, "I'm good, other than being a little worried about paying my rent, and I had an argument with a friend today." I know growing up, my friends thought I led this little miss perfect life because I was private and didn't complain about much. I wasn't being dishonest; I just wasn't airing the dirty laundry. We talk to our friends and family, and we're honest...ish. Right?
There's that whole truth setting us free theory, so why do we hold back? To spare feelings, to sound more 'together,' to save face, to keep secrets private, to sugar coat, to protect someone else, to uphold those 'good lies?' There are so many reasons, and our relationships function just fine despite that card we hold.
But I find myself thinking today how valuable it can be to let that all go sometimes. Set it all down on the ground, and take a step forward... I'm talking sit down at a table, pick a personal topic, agree to lay it all out, do just that--say whatever you're thinking, and still want to stand up and hug the other person at the end.
How many people can you have a completely honest conversation with? I consider anyone incredibly lucky to have that with at least one person. I know I have that in my life currently, and I don't think I ever want to be without it. It's... a great feeling.