A situation when you were misunderstood, and lesson(s) you have learnt from this experience.
You should write at least 400 words.

Being misunderstood is painful. Especially when the discord arises between yourself and somebody that you respect, like and admire. Unfortunately it is an unavoidable bi-product of human-interaction and something that we all have to contend with from time to time.

But how best to handle it when the situation arises?

I can see the flicker occur in people’s eyes, when the querying of my artificial extrovertism has reached conclusion. I feel the moment palpably, recognising all the signals having spent a lifetime faking social-courage. When the penny drops I wish I could just blurt out: Oh fudge, OK, FFS, just say it, you’ve seen me! (Cue me running wildly into the hills).

Yes I recognise this moment of acknowledgement so acutely. The searching eyes; the slowed talking at their end; the measured, intentional listening — trying to read me just that little bit more closely to affirm to themselves that their instinct is spot-on.

Oh it never tastes less bitter, or feels less painful despite experiencing it again and again over the years.

I want to suspend the moment in time, rewind it a few seconds to the moment before this one — when they still thought I was the Ace of Spades. Still thought the confidence that my mask upholds was real, that I do indeed want to talk to all humans, certainly not that I actually just want to run and hide in a deep dark black hole and be on my own.

The truth always outs they say, and ain’t that the truth indeed.

I can say however, that I have come to accept that I am oft misunderstood. And that you know what, it’s OK — because we all are. More than that, I frequently misunderstand others, getting it wrong all too often despite my thinking that I am intuitive and have a strong sense of others characters.

:

what play?

explanation:

there is no play