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Why You Should Stay

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I don’t know what you’re going through, but I’ll tell you this: you should stay.

No, I will not tell you to stay for the people you will leave behind. Here’s the thing: you shouldn’t let the world go on without you in it. Not for other people. Stay for yourself.

You’re probably in the phase of your life when you can’t help thinking everything is just pointless. I feel the same way. The truth is, I might just be writing this all down as a way to convince myself there’s still something to live for. But I’m letting you in my internal monologue, and hopefully I can also convince you.

Ending it all here will be unfair to the people who care for you, but it will be mostly unfair to you. And you’ll probably say you don’t love yourself enough to take the time considering that, but hear me out: you deserve so much more than what you’ve had. It sounds cliche and insincere, but I mean it when I say you deserve to be really happy. You deserve to feel complete. It’s not always wrong to be selfish, and now I am asking you to be just that. Do it for yourself, not for someone else. Live. Give yourself a chance, and fight for what you deserve. Stay a little while longer, and discover what it feels like to do things you’re truly passionate for, to find the kind of love that everyone dreams of. You can do it. You can find it. And if it seems like you can’t, you can work to create your own happiness.

Life will not get any easier, and none of us will ever be perfect. But I hope you try to love yourself enough to find the will to stay. Because we can never really be sure if things do get better. But you can.

Previously published on Thought Catalog here.

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Thinkstock photo by MarinaZg

Originally published: November 22, 2016
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