Discovering new things about yourself as an adult is wild, it's like unlocking secret personality features you didn't know of. Lately, I discovered I can be rude to people ho are rude to me. And the sky did not fall. Apparently, I don't have to be the bigger person every single time. I can just be a person. Being petty sometimes feels honest. Not evil. Just a delayed reaction. I also realized I can lie to people who only function in lies anyway. Consider it cultural adaptation. Why should I waste sincerity on someone committed to misunderstanding me? If they're running from the truth, I'm not chasing them with it. Sometimes all it takes is a polite little lie to confirm their dramatic little lie, and boom, conversation over. Energy preserved. Peace restored. Exit executed. And then I just blink twice, nod politely, and exit the scene like I was never emotionally involved in the first place.