Connection requires being seen, and being seen requires the willingness to be known in your actual condition rather than your curated one. Vulnerability is not the same as oversharing; it is the specific act of offering something real about yourself in a context where it might not be received. The person who can do this — not recklessly, but with genuine courage — usually finds that connection follows. The person who cannot, often finds that loneliness follows instead.
Each step builds on the last.