I walked tall.

damaged goods.

a burden.

worthless.

a failure.

stupid.

a waste of space.

weak.

a lost cause.

I remember how throughout middle school - high school there was so much pressure around to be dating someone, and if you weren’t, you were a loser or deemed unattractive. Your relationship status was like a social status, and if you’ve never been in one, you’re inexperienced and missing out.

I always thought to myself, what about the work I put into my personal interests? What about the friends I build deep connections with? What about me just being capable of taking care of myself? I feel like there was a lack of emphasis of being your own self and not giving a shit about what other people are doing back in middle school / high school.

While some people may think it’s important to have had previous relationship experiences before (which yeah, it works for some people that way), there’s also nothing wrong with investing that time in yourself and your friendships, and placing yourself first ✌🏻