Finish this thought: "I used to believe

Finish this thought: "I used to believe... but now I know..."

I used to believe if I am nice to everyone, everyone will be nice to me.

I really believed it. Like a rule. If I give, I will get back. If I help, I will be helped. If I love, I will be loved.

So, I was nice. Too nice.

If someone needed notes, I sent immediately, even if my exam was next day. If someone needed money for auto, I gave even if I Had to walk. If someone needed help to hide their secret relationship from parents, I helped, even if my own mother was strict and checked my phone daily.

I said yes to everything. Yes to going out when I didn’t want to. Yes to sharing my tiffin when I was hungry. Yes to listening to their boy problems till 2:45 AM When I had tears in my own eyes for my own secret love, for that boy in black shirt with white necklace.

I thought being nice would make them stay. I thought if I am available 24/7, they will call me that Besty forever.

But now I know, that was my biggest mistake.

People don’t love you for Being nice. They love What you do for them.

The day I said no, for the first time, I saw real faces. The girl I gave my notes for whole year said “you have changed, you Have attitude”. The friend I help to hide chats said “ you are not the same anymore”. No one ask why I said. No one asked if I was tired.

I was nice when they needed me during exams. But after exams, they made plans without me. They went to cafe, they posted stories “my People “and I was not there. They had a second group chat without me.

Being too nice made me their second option. They texted me only when their main group was busy. They remembered me only when they were bored.

I used to believe niceness will Bring love. Now I know nice news without boundaries being only being used.

Now I know being nice is good, but being too nice is self destruction.

Now I don’t say yes to everything. Now I put myself first. I drink water, I sleep early, I study for myself. I still help, but I don’t beg to belong anymore.

If you also believed that being nice, will make everyone nice to you, you are not alone. I learned it the hard way.

You can be good person with a kind heart, but you don’t have to say yes to everyone to prove it.

Sometimes saying no is also self love.