This Time, I Choose Me I chose everyone before myself, silencing my needs, carrying their weight. I stayed when it hurt, hoping love would notice my pain. I broke quietly, learned to smile through storms no one saw, waited for hands that never reached back, for voices that never called my name. But today, I choose me. I choose peace over proving, healing over holding on, rest over resistance, and truth over fear. I no longer beg to be valued. I no longer shrink to be accepted. I stand where my heart feels safe, even if I must stand alone. This time, I choose me not out of anger, but out of self-respect, and the love I finally learned to give myself.