Every time I write, I’m thinking less about word construction, punny phrases, and staying grammatically correct. But rather, I’m thinking about what I want to say with the words I put on the page.

What order will make them the most powerful?

In what way do I need to deliver this sentence to make it powerful?

I also take into consideration that what I might be writing may have been written time and time again. But that comes with the task. As I sit with my laptop listening to Ed Sheeran’s new album, and I turn over and over in my head what I’m doing wrong with certain relationships in my life, I realize something. The only person I need is me.

I’m not saying I’m going to get rid of all my friends and stop talking to my family and solely live with myself. What I am saying is that I’ve learned I can’t rely on people, I can’t have expectations of friendships, and I can’t let those things bring me down.

It’s so easy to allow the people that we rely on and the people we lean on to bring down our good vibes.

We are humans, we need social interaction, we need other humans, it is crucial to our survival. However, when your friends or your boyfriend or girlfriend let you down, you can’t let that bring your entire spirit down. Here’s why.

If every time someone you rely on or care for lets you down, or upsets you, gets to you, you will not be able to live a happy and peaceful life. You will not be getting the most out of the people, places, and situations around you that are actually raising you up. You are taking yourself out of amazing things by focusing on the negative things.

Going away to college has honestly shown me this over and over. It is an extremely hard but valuable lesson to grasp. I’ve learned that I have high expectations for the people in my life, sometimes so high that I really need to let them go. Otherwise, I will just end up disappointed. But this isn’t a negative thing in my life, it is simply opening my eyes up to the fact that if I loosen my expectations, I will not be disappointed or upset.

I’m sure you’ve experienced this too. You notice when you are distracted all day because a friend hasn’t been around much or a relative hasn’t been in touch. When you are this distracted by something, it shows that you care, but it also shows that you deserve to be happy and to be able to focus on what you’re doing.

So letting go of your expectations and realizing that you only need you is one of the best values you can teach yourself. If you have yourself, you have the world.

Let go of holding onto everything.

Let go of people, let go of places.

Hold onto you. Just you.