Removing the rod from my back.

I think I've made a rod for my back.  This rod, stiff, inflexible and difficult for me to reach has shaped me in the eyes of others.
An independent, strong, capable woman - all very flattering and not aspects of my character I'd easily or happily give up.
But that's not all that's going on.
I can be vulnerable, overly-sensitive, confused and melancholy. I feel relieved when I know someone has caught a glimpse of that side of me.  I believe those who don't do so through their own choice, preferring only to see my strengths.
We are all multi-faceted - all capable of feeling and displaying passion -  all capable of falling into a deeply sad and isolated place.  Each of us, no exceptions - humans with emotions and the ability to experience all of them at some point.
You may be someone who likes to see what satisfies your perception of another - or you may be someone who has an awareness that what others see in you is not the whole story.  Whatever side of the fence you're on the most important thing is to be honest with yourself about all that you feel.
Feel it, express it, speak it, dance it, sing it, write it, draw it -  it matters not what your preferred genre is, the important thing is to move your feelings outwards and avoid burying them deeply and silently inside.
"Be true to yourself and to your feelings.  Those are the only things in your life that will never lie to you." - Author unknown
"The greatest happiness is to transform one's feelings into action." - Madame de Stael