We live in a very interesting world. When you see someone that you know or maybe somebody that you don't, the conversation is something along these lines:

Person 1: "Hi how are you?"

Person 2: "Great thank you! How are you?"

Person 1: "I'm good thank you!"

That's what we are taught is polite to do. As part of our society we are not taught to stand there and tell many people what is actually going on and the sad part of it is, is that there are a lot of people who just don't care how you are actually doing.

I tend to do the same kind of thing even with my friends. It's easier to just tell my friends that I'm fine and that everything is going ok than it is to tell them how I really am and what's going on in my life. But one thing that I've learned over the last couple of years specifically is that it's ok to not be ok.

You don't have to stand there and pretend like nothing bothers you all the time. The truth is, everybody needs someone that they can confide in and be totally open with when things get really hard. Most of the time when I am out in public and I am interacting with strangers and even sometimes friends and coworkers, I pretend and somehow along the way I feel like I start to lose myself and turn into this person that is just fake.

It's not that I am faking being nice to people or faking my personality, but sometimes it's hard to tell who actually wants to know and who is being polite according to societal standards. The interesting thing is that with certain cultures, when someone is asked that question they are a hundred percent honest about how they are and what is going on in their lives.

I don't know about you, but I could never see a society where people actually answer the question of how they are honestly and completely. We as a society are too fast-paced and are always on the go. I have learned now that I will not hide how I really am - what's the point? Someone in your life could make such an impact that you are actually ok again. It's ok to not be ok. But remember this: eventually...