I need to focus on myself.

For the longest time, I have put other people and their needs before myself and my own. And what have I gotten from doing this? Well, sometimes I get lucky and I find awesome people and even better friends who are worth the effort. But, unfortunately, most of the time, I find myself hurt and stabbed in the back by the same person or people that I put all my effort into making happy and being nice to. You can put so much effort into being nice to people, and try to make them like you, but you can't turn a weed into a rose. No matter how much effort you put into doing things for other people, they may still be ugly on the inside and stab you in the back.

That being said, starting right now, I'm focusing on myself. I will no longer put in extra effort to be nice to people out of politeness. Sure, I will still be polite, but I will not put more effort than other people are willing to put in. If someone wants to be friends with me, they are going to have to put in effort too. I have realized that friendship has to be a two-way street in order for it to be worth either party's time.

This year, I have decided that it is not worth the heartache to be nice to people who are only going to stab me in the back a few weeks, days, hours, etc. later on. As the great Drake once said "I got fake people showin' fake love to me, straight up to my face," and he could not be more right. Everyone, regardless of who they are, has had an experience with some one who turned out to just be fake. They may be nice to your face, and then stab you the second you turn around. Any tragic love story can teach you that. I don't know why it took so long, or why it took so many fake people to come into my life for me to make this realization, but I have finally realized that so many people are just not worth an effort.

No matter how nice you are to some people, they are never going to change. My mom taught me at a young age to treat others the way that I would want to be treated. Growing up, I assumed that meant that if I was nice to people and treated them with respect and love, they would treat me the same. Unfortunately that is not always the case. Some people just were not raised with those morals.

Now, let me get this straight, I am by no means saying that I am a perfect friend or person. I've made my mistakes, and I've at least tried to apologize or make up for most of them. However, some do not put in the effort to make up for their mistakes. Whether that is something in their personality, attitude, or they are just too dumb to realize their mistakes I don't know, What I do know is, that these people are not worth the time and the effort it takes to be friends with them.

Some one who is really worth your time, whether that is in a friendship or romantic relationship, will try just as hard as you do, so that putting in effort will feel effortless.

I hope that anyone who reads this realizes the same thing that I have realized. Fake friends are not worth your time or heartache for everything that happens. It's not your fault that they treat you the way they do, and it's not your fault that they don't put in effort to make the relationship better. What is your fault is the fact that you let them treat you like that. I invite everyone to join me, and focus on yourself. Put your own needs and well being above others. Be nicer to yourself and be nicer to the people who deserve your time. Good people are hard to come by, but when they do you'll be much happier than you ever could be with fake friends.