The years you spend unhappy, the years you spend swallowed up in pride– you never get that time back.
I would love to lie and sell you a fantasy, but you’ll only wake up from the dream and it will turn into your nightmare. And so I ask this of each and every person out there:
When you know yourself, do not compromise on who you are.
I am not saying you have to know everything about yourself. But every time you learn a new puzzle piece, accept it and embrace it. Becoming at peace with ourselves is, I believe, what happiness is all about. Or perhaps contentment is a more accurate word. But contentment is a wonderful foundation to happiness.
Because I do not want this to be your story. I do not want you, ten, twenty years later, to find yourself trying to make someone else accept and love you for who you are– because you thought you could let that part of yourself fall by the wayside and now you desperately miss this piece of yourself.
But what if you can’t?
What if you wake up, ten years down the line, and you are so full of despair that you pack up your bags and tell your spouse, “This person, who I never told you about, this is me. And if you don’t like me, than I’m leaving.”
Because that happened to my friend. She was lucky; her husband was equally unhappy and grateful that she had spoken and broken the silence. But the girl in the story above? She wasn’t so lucky. And you simply do not know which one will be your story.
Oh, you cannot control everything!
You cannot predict the future, nor know what kind of person you will become one day. But I believe you can, slowly but surely, reveal yourself for the person you are— and as that person comes to be, I hope you embrace them and love them. And just as importantly, you bring people close to you that also love and embrace you. For who you are, not who they want you to be.
Settling is not always a bad thing- depending on what you’re settling for. You think, you know what, that guy is pretty awesome. He isn’t six foot tall; he has baggage; she isn’t as pretty as you hoped for.
But please don’t settle on what truly matters! Because there are some things you cannot give up without paying a price.