Often, I have seen so many of my friends get so into a relationship, they lose all sense of self and once that couple breaks up, they won't even know who they are anymore. Sound familiar? I think we all know at least one person who's done this. It is so important and crucial to your mental health to develop a relationship with yourself before you even think about having a relationship with others. And no, having a relationship with yourself does not require you to always be on good terms with yourself...It is just the simple act of being able to get in touch with the inner you and be able to recognize yourself and your thoughts. It is such an amazing feeling t have such strong love towards people, although when you start saying things like "I love you more than I love myself" or "You're my reason for existence" Believe me when I say NO ONE is that important that being with them makes you forget your self worth. You should be the reason for your own happiness, you should be the reason that you get up in the morning, and you should love yourself more than anyone. No, this is not selfish. It's healthy. And it is the simple way that we begin to form relationships with the outside world. Attachment isn't always a bad thing though, sometimes getting attached to a person can actually teach us how disconnected we are with our own selves. Loving yourself, is NOT selfish. You have to be willing to respect yourself enough that before the thought of a significant other comes to mind, YOU should be comfortable with yourself. Nothing in this world is permanent. Not feelings, not people, not even us as humans. This one boy/girl that makes you feel on top of the world will eventually be gone, but it is up to us that we maintain mental peace enough so that no matter who comes and goes in our lives, we are at our core. I have learnt this concept through the hard process of having people walk in and out of my life. And I'm here to tell you, no one is worth losing yourself over. You have to have enough love for yourself in order to distribute that to the world around you.
-Astha Soni
March 28th 2019
