It's weird how the things I used to consider 'core' to my personality now feel like... choices I made under duress. I used to think my anxiety WAS me, not just something riding along. Now I see it was a survival tactic, a hyper-vigilant lookout I don't need to man 24/7 anymore, thank God. I clung to being 'the strong one' for so long, built my whole identity around it. Now I realize I can be vulnerable, and the world doesn't end – in fact, it gets a whole lot easier. I thought being a "lone wolf" was just who I was, some inherent thing. Turns out, I was just too scared to let anyone close enough to see the mess.