Throughout your many years of life you're going to meet thousands of different people. Some are going to be for a short while, whereas others are going to become your best friend or maybe your significant other and make huge impacts on your life. Some people are going to meet you and instantly like you. And some, well some aren't going to like you at all. I'm here to tell you that's okay.
It's okay to have people dislike you. It's okay that you're not everybody's cup of tea. I'm sure there are people that you dislike. Maybe because of that person's actions or you just don't seem to fit right. Maybe you fit right at one point and then slowly changed into pieces that didn't match up anymore.
Maybe it's like broccoli and you can't put your finger on why, but you just don't like it. Maybe it's vice versa and you are someone's "broccoli." Being broccoli isn't a bad thing. Plenty of people love broccoli and would choose it over any other vegetable, there's just a select few who wouldn't ever willingly eat it. You don't see broccoli going around begging people to like it.
You can't go through life trying to make sure that everyone's going to like you because then one day you'll realize you don't even know if you like yourself. If you keep giving your all to everyone else you'll run yourself down to the point of having nothing left to give yourself, and that's not fair to you.
I'm not saying go out there and scream "screw the world" and not care at all. It's still your responsibility to be a decent human being, but it's also your responsibility to decide when you need to stop caring. You can give and give and give but at some point, you have to realize that there's no way anything is going to change. Their thoughts are going to stay that way until they decide on their own to change it.
What people think and do in reaction to those thoughts is not a reflection of you, but a reflection of them. So if someone doesn't like you and acts out on those thoughts don't let their actions bruise your ego or self-esteem. You are your own person and the only person whose opinion of you matters. At the end of the day, liking yourself is the one thing to be proud of. If you don't, that's when you need to start worrying.
Being liked is an amazing feeling, but going out of your way is something that shouldn't overrun who you are as a person. Do what you can to please people, but don't go through life being a people pleaser. The best thing my mother ever said was "It's none of your business what other people think of you." She's right, like always. Be the broccoli, and be proud of it.
