12/22/2025
Some women don’t avoid hard conversations. They redirect them.
They talk to everyone except the person they’re upset with.
They vent, process, explain, and justify, just not to the source.
They build a case in public instead of having a conversation in private.
They smile at the person they’re mad at, then work the room quietly,
sharing their version so others shift, distance, or choose sides.
It looks calm.
It sounds reasonable.
But it’s still avoidance.
Not because they’re malicious,
but because confrontation feels unsafe and influence feels like protection. So instead of saying,
“When you did that, it hurt me,”
they say, “I’m just protecting my peace.” But peace built on silence isn’t peace. It’s control dressed up as composure. Healthy women don’t recruit allies to fight battles they refuse to fight themselves. They don’t outsource honesty. They don’t punish through perception management. Maturity is having the courage to speak to the person you’re hurt by without needing a witness, a jury, or an echo chamber.
If you can talk about someone,
you’re capable of talking to them.
That’s not confrontation.
That’s integrity.
www.cherlettemccullough.com 407-230-4582
