You Need Not Be Strong Everytime And Here’s Why It’s Okay

I considered myself to be an emotionally strong person. I always have. It’s not because I’m egoistic, or I’m self assured, it’s because people told me so.  When my dad passed away, I wasn’t told to grieve or cry it out, I was told to be strong for my mother. When my first love broke my heart, my friends didn’t tell me to vent, they told me to hold it in, or he might see I’m weak. The day I packed my bags to leave for an unknown country, leaving the place I called home for almost 18 years behind, no one had to tell me to be strong. Because by then I knew I had no choice in the matter.

But now, I stand before you stronger and tougher and let me tell you, it didn’t do me any good.

People around you will always tell you to be tougher, to be stronger, to be better, because they need something concrete to lean on. But don’t you too?  Over the years you’ve built a dam to keep your emotions at bay but who is it really helping? Because it isn’t helping you.

What the world won’t tell you is that it’s okay to cry all night about your broken heart, it’s okay to grieve the loss of someone who was your anchor in the world, it’s okay to be sad even though you’re surrounded by a horde of people.

It’s human to not be okay.

Because it’s the times when you open up, the times when you connect with your emotions and the times when you acknowledge the hurt that you actually start the healing process. By shoving everything at the bottom of an endless pit, you’re not dealing with the pain, you’re dismissing it as something that hasn’t just made a huge impact on your life. You’re giving it an opportunity to resurface and hurt you later.

But what about the people who you’ve become a support system for?

You’re the wall around which they’ve grown and blossomed, you’ve been the one to offer your shoulder when their world crashed and burned. If you let go, what happens to them? You’d be surprised to know that all it takes is one emotional cry for help from you. They’ll hold your hand when it gets too much, they’ll make you see the good things in life and they’ll remind of what an amazing person you are. Not how strong you are, but how good you are.

‘Through all the heartaches and the tears, through gloomy days and fruitless years; I do give thanks for now I know, these were the things that helped me grow”- David Lockett

I never thought much of this quote until recently. I decided to choose what I wanted to be in the world. I didn’t choose to be weak but I choose to be stronger by letting my emotions take their course. I choose to be true to my feelings.

And now, it’s your time to choose What’s it going to be?

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