For as long as I can remember, I have made it a point to try to make everyone in my life happy. I can remember times when I was in the fifth grade I would wear the most insane/tacky outfit I could put together that morning just to make my teacher laugh. I know this is sort of a silly example, but it goes to show that I was whole-heartedly willing to get made fun of by the other kids just to make someone else smile.

When I was in the seventh grade, someone anonymously made an Instagram page that would post pictures of me with rude captions calling me fat and even telling me to cause harm to myself. I hid it from my parents until one of my teachers found out and called them. Needless to say, they were angry and wanted to get the police involved to find out who it was- but I knew who it was. I was pretty much friends with everyone in my middle school and didn't want the person who made the page to be attacked and end up feeling the way I was feeling.

In high school and even my first semester of college, I went through plenty of toxic relationships and friendships that go on for far too long simply because I just wanted the other person to be happy and I wanted to "fix" things with those people. I always tried to do whatever I could to achieve those goals, regardless of how self-destructive it made me. No matter the exhaustion, hurt, or sadness, I put my entire being on the back burner to be with the people that I loved. It wasn't until I decided to put my life in God's hands that I realized that my happiness was and is just as important as everyone else's!

This isn't a sob-story about all the trials I've had in my life, but rather a call to all those out there that are like me: who put up with other people's catastrophic actions, comfort and offer advice to those that would rather attention than the help they claim they need, don't believe it when warned they're being stabbed in the back, and just want the world to be content. To all of you people pleasers out there- you deserve someone to put the same amount of effort into you as you put into others. You deserve to have people in your life that bring you closer to God rather than those that pull you away. You are worthy of love, friendships, relationships, and most of all happiness! It's not until you believe these things about yourself that others will too, and because of that you'll meet so many amazing people.