On Trust

Like the rich and the beautiful, I, Calvin Sharpe, have difficulty knowing if a person is truly interested in my thoughts or feelings, or if they just want something from me. It’s difficult. I see a smile or receive a compliment and think… “Do you really mean that? Do you actually see me as a person, or just something to be used?”

I can never be certain if I’m living in a world of fakes, you know? How many people are actually telling me how they really feel? Maybe it’s impossible to know another person’s heart, but surely not everyone lives with these kinds of doubts. Surely not everyone wonders, when someone strikes up a conversation with them, “Do they really care about what I have to say?” I keep hoping that maybe they will.

But it’s more likely that I’ll I just hear, “By the way Mr. Sharpe, could you write me a college recommendation?”