The Good Sociopath

 I often talk to myself.  I fabricate conversations when I am alone and pretend to talk to people. It's a one-sided practice I exercise for when I might face the same situation in reality. Often these circumstances never come to pass. Either I know I can never speak my mind freely or the individual isn't in my life anymore. This can't be too terribly uncommon, I'd imagine. You might notice I have tendency to use I a lot. I actually go out of my way to try avoiding I so I don't sound so self-centered. Let's no start counting now, the last sentence didn't count.  I am not a good person, at least, that is what I tell myself. Everyday, I make every effort to be the person I wish I was rather than the person I have become. Unfeeling, empty, apathetic. Morals and principles still guide me, there are rules to my behavior.  Strangers.   Smile. Tolerate. Avoid long discussion that venture beyond the weather and how do you dos. They mean nothing to me. These rules mea...