Nice people

I have come to realize that people are nice for different reasons.

Some people are nice simply out of adherence to social convention.

Some people are nice because they are manipulating you; they need or want something from you.

Some people are nice because they are just a nice person, and may even be a bit naive.

Some people are nice because they have walked through hell and fought demons every single day at some point in their lives, and perhaps still do. All the while, the world goes on as usual, expecting normal things from people in very abnormal circumstances.

The problem lies in the fact that you never truly know which category a person falls into, and you may never know. This is why it is important to always be kind, but also important to protect yourself. This may mean saying no if you need to, establishing boundaries, and so on. This may also mean not taking advantage of someone’s niceness, because you may not want to find out what the other side of that person looks like.