It's funny how I thought
that I was fine alone
until I was shown otherwise,
that I wanted to be left behind -
left alone -
like a solo dancer
dancing a routine meant for a two,
or maybe three or four or ten,
left to try as best as one can 
when you are only one
when you wish to be ten or twenty or a hundred.

Dancing has never been something
I share with others
it is something private,
something I do for myself,
yet I yearn for validation,
yearn for the sweet words of praise
that can only be given by others,
never by myself.
It wasn't until your introduction
that I fully understood
how much of a secret shame it became,
how much I desperately hated but clung to
the secrets of the dark.

I thought that it was fear that kept me back,
and in a way it was,
but even more, it was embarrassment
little 'ol unflappable me,
the consummate nerd
has troubles,
true.

I am forever grateful,
forever in your debt,
however,
for showing me
this new dance,
one that anyone can perform,
thankful for this new routine
filled with cheer and connections and  truth.
Thankful for this dance of truth.