Why are we all so scared to be ourselves?

I have been thinking a lot the last several days about the way people communicate with each other. Why don't we just say what we want, need or feel? We are scared to be out of place, getting hurt or worse to hurt someone. Sometimes we keep the truth to ourselves thinking it would be better or easier unsaid. Wouldn't it be so much easier to be able to say "I really like you and hope you to feel the same for me." Instead we feel anxiety waiting for that phone call, text, e-mail or next meeting. We wait for the other person to say the things we want to hear or are too afraid to say. I am thinking about dating specifically in this rant but really in all of our relationships we don't say what we mean. Trying to date and put yourself out there is scary! I really have had some strange conversations via the e-mail. One guy says we are getting to know each other but in the last 3 weeks it has been a sentence or two of nonsense but no real information. I guess I scared him off anyway. We would answer each other every couple of days but he is MIA. God, I hate the looking for a normal person to hang with! I was fortunate in the past as far as a DB. We had a wonderful relationship except for the long distance thing.

I have run out of steam for this (continual) rant so I will leave it for now. "I don't want it all" just a person to share time with.