I am 22 years old and I still find myself apologizing for the most ridiculous things. It takes a toll, constantly apologizing for things that are out of your control or not your fault. You start to believe it, even if it is just out of habit. Language is powerful: when used correctly it can insight confidence and love, but when used incorrectly it can cause great harm and be very destructive. Here are all of the things I won't be apologizing for ever anymore.
1. Putting my needs first.
2. Being too tired to hang out.
3. Being too broke to hang out.
4. Simply not wanting to hang out.
5. Not shaving my legs.
6. Not answering a phone call I didn't want to take.
7. Posting 100 pictures of my dogs a day.
8. Voicing my opinions.
9. Calling out hate speech directly.
10. Sleeping whenever I get the chance.
11. Treating my dogs like people.
12. Focusing on school.
13. Jamming to Disney on my Pandora.
14. Always being covered in dog hair.
15. Talking about dogs all the time.
16. Talking about social justice when I'm not talking about dogs.
17. Snorting when I laugh.
18. Being honest.
19. Walking away from toxic people.
20. Saying no.
21. Needing time alone.
22. Being sad.
23. Crying at cheesy movies.
24. Disagreeing with popular opinion.
25. Laughing at my own jokes.
26. Not laughing at jokes that aren't funny.
27. Posting 100 political memes a day.
28. Not responding to texts in a timely fashion.
29. Being bold.
30. Being a feminist.
31. Having a lot of feelings.
32. Not always letting myself feel everything deeply.
33. Needing reassurance.
34. Asking for help.
35. Not "acting like a lady."
36. Being weird.
37. My anxiety.
38. Wearing sweatpants 99% of the time.
39. Using Snapchat filters on every selfie I take.
40. Trying to make the world a better place.
These are the things I find myself apologizing for the most in my life. Not always overtly with words but in my actions, how I make certain parts of myself small to fit a mold that I am expected to emulate. Not anymore. Never again. I am not sorry.