For the Man Who Truly Sees

I deserve to be chosen, consistently, not just when it's convenient.

I deserve someone who's sure about me, not someone I have to convince.

I deserve someone who sees my anxiety and doesn't weaponize it against me.

I deserve a love that is consistent, present, and gentle—a safe haven, not a constant storm of fear and uncertainty.

I deserve love that feels like coming home, not a house I’m constantly trying to break into.

I deserve to feel secure enough to be myself, not small enough to be tolerated.

I deserve to feel cherished, prioritized, and understood, not dismissed or taken for granted.

Because I'm tired of being used my whole life—by family, acquaintances, coworkers, my ex, or people I've only briefly crossed paths with.

I'm tired of being remembered only when someone needs something from me, only to be forgotten and invisible the rest of the time.

I'm tired of being someone else's safe place while having to carry everything on my own, without anyone to lean on, without anyone asking if I need help.

I'm tired of feeling like I have to apologize for being myself—for being anxious, for having emotions, fears, and pain, for needing to let those emotions out through tears, through words, or through moments when everything I've been carrying becomes too much.

I'm tired of not being seen, or of being overlooked and ignored. I'm tired of feeling like people can look right at me and still fail to see me.

I'm tired of making myself smaller, quieter, and more invisible just so I won't bother anyone or risk being rejected.

I'm tired of reshaping myself to fit other people's comfort at the expense of my own well-being, even my own health, while so many people never hesitate to make me feel small, hurt, invisible, and sometimes even ill, without a second thought.

I deserve relationships where I don't have to earn my place by sacrificing myself.

I deserve to be loved without pretending to be someone I'm not.

I want to be free to be myself, beside someone who truly sees me, understands me, and loves me exactly as I am.

I want to know what it feels like to finally come home in someone's heart, while never having to abandon my own.

Sylvia