Three and a Question

I was a shy person, with damagingly low self-esteem most of my life. I am no longer entirely that person anymore.

It is amazing how much of the self-confidence I've managed to eke out over the past few years is due to the women I've dated and the experiences I've had due to them.

The whole thing seems wobbly if one starts to consider the possibility that the idea that they thought I was a decent human being was self-delusion on my part.

"I've always relied on the kindness of strangers."

Was that a mistake?