I changed me and everything else changed. I finally refused to abandon myself. I refused to allow, to entertain to be okay with what wasn't okay. I stopped normalizing what isn't normal. Just because I was used to it didn't mean I had to stay used to it. I stopped bypassing how I feel. I finally started listening. My body had always been calling. I just wasn't picking up. I picked up. I noticed the way my chest tightened, the way I contracted. I stayed curious. I was no longer interested in silencing myself to comply, to fall in line, to be liked. I don't wanna be in your circle if it asks me to leave me out. Because then I'm not really in it, am I? I stopped settling for the illusion of connection when it meant disconnecting from myself. That's not connecting, it's appeasing. When I changed how I relate to me, how I relate to you changed too.