Communication is of the essence

Just last weekend I experienced how hard and stressful it can be to communicate openly when a situation is uncomfortable. I had a conflict with a close friend of mine, where I felt like I wasn't being treated the way that I should. I'm pretty easy going and I'm not quick to anger, but I also don't like feeling like I don't matter. Not that anyone does, but I had gotten to a point that I felt like I was pretending everything was ok when it wasn't. I finally made it known that I wasn't ok. I neglected to make the clear point that I had intended to make because I was anxious to leave after I had said all I had to say. The situation made me uncomfortable and I was afraid it could potentially turn into a fight.  I was tempted to just avoid communicating all together because the situation became increasingly uncomfortable and the communication barriers became even stronger, but something told me that I needed to actually talk to this friend to clear things up. I grudgingly followed the prompting that I had and called them to arrange a time for us to chat. Even after I made this phone call I was still tempted to just drop it and move on. In fact I almost  did. Even when this person texted me a couple days later to get together and talk I almost felt relieved that I wasn't able to on that day. I did eventually end up talking to my friend and straightening things out, but I was very tempted to blow it off because it seemed uncomfortable. I'm really glad that I didn't succumb to that temptation because I realized that when it is most difficult, that is when it is most important.