I didn’t want to be a burden

Growing up, I never wanted to be a burden to anyone. I did everything I could to seem low maintenance, not needy, not clingy. I became the person who understood, who let things go, who handled things on my own. I convinced myself that needing less made me easier to love. So I settled for the bare minimum, telling myself it was enough because I didn’t want to ask for more.

But lately, I’ve been wondering if that mindset has cost me more than I realized.

In trying so hard to be easy to deal with, I often made myself easy to overlook. I stayed quiet about what I needed, hoping others would notice on their own.

Ironically, life often seems easier for people who are vocal about what they want. Meanwhile, I kept convincing myself that asking for less was a strength, when all it really did was teach people that I didn’t need much.