I wanted to be heard.

Thought I needed to be right.

I wasn’t asking for agreement.

I couldn’t tell the difference

between validation and confirmation.

I said I wanted feedback.

I wanted to feel seen.

Feel heard.

Maybe even understood.

But when they disagreed,

I felt dismissed.

I wasn’t being rejected.

I wasn’t being confirmed.

The loop of chasing agreement

to feel acknowledged.

Mistaking alignment for acceptance.

Wanting them to say “you’re right”

when what I really wanted was

“you still matter.”

Confirmation reinforces correctness.

Validation reinforces connection.

One is about facts.

The other is about humanity.

What helps me remember

my humanity:

Am I seeking to be seen?

Or to be agreed with?

Validation doesn’t require agreement.

Only attention.

Only presence.

In a world of infinite opinions,

of too much toomuchness,

confirmation is optional.

Validation is essential.