Well, what do you mean "genuinely a good person?" In our lives we wear a lot of different hats, meaning, we are a lot of different things to different people. Like, to your boss you might be the star employee, but you are not a writer, in the same way that to your mother, you are her child and not a co-worker. My point is, it's hard to say who a person will turn out to be to you. I have plenty of people who say they're my friends and have offered support in hard times, but when times get really tough, there's only a few that stick around. Curious. That doesn't mean that the others are bad people, it just means that I have to be aware that when the shit hits the fan, I'd better not even bother with those people. In terms of relationships, that's tough to negotiate. I have no idea on how to make sure someone is really great, other than to take the time to get to know them and to let them get to know me. It's a gamble, but as far as I can see, it's the only game in town.
Lately, I have been thinking about how no two people will ever know the same me, no matter how long they've known me for; inevitably, we present different facets of each other to different people. Even my mom and dad don't know the same version of me. (Though their version of me is probably pretty similar.) I think it's also interesting to consider how we control what people know about us and how what we're willing to share with others affects what they think of us. It's all pretty interesting.