The People You Have Come to Fear the Most

Why is it you always run into people you know in the places you are most embarrassed to see them? A couple of weeks ago, I decided to take advantage of the free counseling offered by the university in order to discuss some of the issues I have been having lately. I made an appointment with a social worker at the mental health center for today, and who do I run into while in the waiting room, but a girl I know from my social work classes. Of course, I shouldn't have been embarrassed because she was obviously there for some counseling as well, but I was anyway. We tactfully did not talk about the reasons why we were both there until my counselor came and called me away. I had never been so grateful to have been called in my life. Why is it you can talk about every little small talk issue in the world with somebody, and yet be embarrassed whenever they get a glimpse into your real life, the life only a handful of your friends actually know about? Why is our culture so afraid to admit when we are struggling with something? Are Americans in actuality a culture of perfectionists? Or is the facade we show to the world merely the one we wish were true, the person we wish we could be deep inside where we struggle with all manner of self-doubt? All I know is that I will never feel as comfortable around her as I had been before.