Opening Up To Others

In this paper, I will be reflecting on opening up to others. To me, being open means to share your feelings about a certain situation or your experiences from your past to people that you think you can trust. I think it is a very important thing for a person to do in order to have a healthy relationship with one's peers. In the text "Reaching Out" on page 45, its states that "Openness has two sides. To build good relationships you must be both open with other people, and open to others." I totally agree with that statement.

A healthy relationship is not one sided. Both individuals must meet each other halfway. If I opened up to someone about my past or present thoughts about something and that person doesn't share their feelings on the situation as well or they just didn't seem to care much, I would feel pretty embarrassed. I have always tried to meet everyone halfway in my life, but this subject is sometimes sensitive for me.

On the other hand, you must be careful on how open you are with people. If you share something with that person that could possibly drive them away, they might not ever talk to you again. Before, I was always a little afraid to open up to other people because I was afraid I would drive them away. But since I opened up to some of my friends, I have gained a lot more confidence in myself.

My friend Nick and I were talking one day while eating lunch. We got on a certain topic that I was uncomfortable talking about but I took a chance. I expressed my feelings about the topic and Nick opened up to me in return. Since then, Nick and I have gotten along a lot better and seem to talk about more things than before. Another friend that I had a hard time speaking to was Justin. Justin and I have been friends for 3 years but we had never really opened up to each other. Both Justin and I are real shy kids and we don't like to talk. One night, when I was over at his house, we were talking about what the other one did the past week. Justin brought up a topic that seemed a little sensitive to him so I took advantage of the situation and opened up to him about it. Surprisingly, Justin responded and expressed his feelings as well. After he was done talking I offered advice and he thanked me for it. Since then, Justin and I talk about our personal issues to each other and one usually offers advice to the other.

The other side of openness is listening and being open with other people. When other people open up to me it shows me that they confide in me, trust me, and consider me one of their close friends. People sharing their feelings with you is always a good thing because it also shows you that the person cares enough about you to let you know how they feel exactly. If someone offends you, you must remember that they care enough to tell you how they feel. It is okay to not accept a person, but it would be better to disagree with their reaction instead of just denying the person period.

The text "Reaching out" on page 46, explains how being open depends on three key elements: self-awareness, self-acceptance, and trust. For some people, like myself, self-awareness could be the most difficult element for them. In order for people to get to know you, you must first get to know yourself. There