To The Ones Who Are Tired Of Apologizing For Their Feelings

 ThoughtCatalog.com
ThoughtCatalog.com

To the ones who are tired of apologizing for their sensitivity. The ones who have to say sorry for overreacting or getting emotional. The ones who push people away because they care too much about them. The ones who get hurt when someone looks the other way, when someone ignores their message, when someone doesn’t smile back. I’m sorry. I’m sorry you live in a world that doesn’t understand you. A world that doesn’t root for people like you. A world that makes fun of your feelings and turns them into internet memes. I’m sorry you live in a world that doesn’t know how to give you the love you’re asking for. But even though the world doesn’t understand you, it needs you. It needs people like you because you give it balance, you give people hope and you remind people that it’s okay to be real, soft and vulnerable. You remind people that it’s okay to be a non-perfect human being.

To the ones who are tired of apologizing for their vulnerability. The ones who show too much too soon. The ones who can’t help but tell people how much they love them and what they’re willing to do for them. The ones who don’t always know how to play the game or win at life because they’re following their hearts. The ones who believe that people can change, that people can heal, that people just need the right kind of love to be the best versions of themselves. Don’t let the world change you. Don’t let modern dating make you give up on love. Don’t let heartbreak make you guarded. Don’t let unrequited love or almost relationships make you believe that you’re not worthy of love or that you’re the problem. Don’t let the world take away the most beautiful quality you have. Don’t let the world change your heart. Keep loving. Keep giving. Keep saying what you want to say because life is too short to keep important words unsaid.

To the ones who are tired of apologizing for being themselves. The ones who can’t seem to get it right. The ones who don’t really know where they belong or how to fit in. The ones who suck at pretending because they don’t know how to act. The ones who are constantly told that they have to do this or do that in order to find what they’re looking for. The ones who are still looking for a home in the world and in other people. The ones who still believe that there’s still a place for them in the world and a person for them out there that will accept them just the way they are. The ones who sometimes can’t help but wonder when they’ll stop apologizing for their behavior, for their actions, for their thoughts and for their voice.

I still don’t have the answer. I still don’t know why people like you are suffering. I still don’t understand how your kindness and your authenticity is working against you but I know that a lot of people are watching you. I know that a lot of people secretly want to be you. I know that the people who criticize you also admire you. I know that you’re an inspiration to those around you. And maybe the world is too hard on you because you’re someone people look up to you and they want to know that you’ll keep on fighting. They want to know you’ll keep on trying, you’ll keep on building your own life and carving your own path because that’s what makes you special. That’s what makes you extraordinary— your ability to live when everything around you is killing you. Thought Catalog Logo Mark

Rania Naim is a poet and author of the new book All The Words I Should Have Said, available here.

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Writing makes me feel alive. Words heal me.

Keep up with Rania on Instagram

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