I have been struggling.

I have a need to want to fix people's problems in the only way I know how. Listen and give the best advice I can. However, sometimes it is hard to give advice when someone may or may not be being real. How do you give advice to someone who may not be telling the whole truth? I don't want to cause more hurt to anybody, but I want to help. I know that I should keep loving no matter how the person may be. I see people hurt; I have an ability to see people fake smiles and stuff and then I am drawn to want to hug and comfort. I see strangers or people I met for just a few days and if they are sad, I just want to be a shoulder. It hurts when people don't want to trust me, and although, I understand, I still want to be there.

There is a problem with my inability to trust all people on being honest with me. I know that I have lied before about stories in order not to seem what I deem as not good for whatever reason (embarrassment, not coolness, unchristian-like (funny only because lying is unchristian.) So I know some people would do the same thing, but when do we start trusting people? When do we actually put down the walls, so that we can help each other for real? And of course sometimes maybe people believe something is real that really isn't. Like they really have the worst parents in the world, but in reality they just have a parents who have maybe one too many rules.

When listening to problems, my dad put in my head to see things as a third party and not partial to anything. However, sometimes that is difficult simply because when a friend is hurt, you want to be on his/her side. I just know that when dad listened to my problems he helped me question things in order to see from different sides and make sure that I was not being silly or wrong. I hope to give similar advice and see people changed for the good. I am just afraid that I am giving the wrong advice over and over.

Am I asking for advice? Maybe. Is that ironic? Not sure, still having a hard time on the definition of ironic. Apparently, Alanis had it all wrong...