Be the one who stays…

When times are tough, when things get hard, and when everyone else leaves, be the one who stays!

Because I dealt with depression/anxiety/self-loathing and more throughout my entire childhood, it was rather hard for me to make friends. I was THAT person– the person that nobody wanted! I was the last person chosen–in everything! I was the reason conversations stopped when walking into a room! And I was the one who just was NOT included–in anything! And with the exception of like 3 people (2 are sisters–the other is my Hound Dog and I’m her Fox), I just wasn’t real liked. I always carried a lot of negative energy and that P.R.O.B.A.B.L.Y had something to do with it! But nevertheless, only 3 people were willing to stick with me during my ups, my downs, and ALL through my crazy! Looking back, they are the 3 that would help me cover up a crime if I asked! Jkjk–maybe! For real though, they’re the ones who chose to stay!

I bet while you were reading, no less than 3 people popped into your head! No, the other 3! The ones who others DO walk away from. The ones who REALLY need a friend, but they are a little difficult. The ones who ARE very needy and draining, but they have nobody else to turn to! Those are the ones I want you to focus on! Why? Because I’ve been in their shoes, and I’m willing to bet that at some point in your life, you have too! Grant it, you probably haven’t been as familiar with solidarity as I have, because after all your not my level of crazy! But I’m willing to lay down some dough, that you really do know what it’s like to wear those shoes! It isn’t fun! It doesn’t bring warm fuzzy feelings! And honestly, it just down right sucks! So be the one who stays!

NOW, think of the ones who have stayed and been there for you! How would your life be different had those people walked away when things got rough! What would you have done without them? I know, you would’ve made it through somehow–right? Well, not everybody is able to! Not everybody can stand on their own 2 feet when others choose or decide to walk away! And for goodness sake, not every person is able to remember that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, so they take the only way out that they can think of! And let me tell you…I don’t think there is anything worse than losing someone who “seemed happy ” or “was always smiling”! Unfortunately, I do know what that’s like, and I’ll be damned if I allow myself to walk away when I could’ve been the one who stayed!

For me, I really don’t want to think about how my life would be different had it not been for the ones I mentioned earlier! Afterall, I hit some pretty deep lows–and I understand more about loneliness than I care to talk about! So if you’ve never had that feeling–be thankful! Be thankful that you’ve never had to debate if anybody cared! Be thankful that loneliness, depression, or sadness wasn’t able to grip you so hard that you had to wonder if it things would be better if you were gone! And for the love of everything good, be thankful that you’ve had people who chose to stay!

Thankfully, as an adult, I have been able to add a few more people to my list of the ones I can count on! These are friends that have NEVER judged me, even after hearing my story–most people run! These are the friends who I could call right now and they would do whatever they could to help, without asking questions! And these are the ones who, without a doubt, will always be there–I know this because they could’ve ran a long time ago!!! So a big thanks dear friends for keeping my head above water when I got too tired to swim! You know who you are and I thank God for allowing us to cross paths!

To my mom’s best friend for life: thank you for being the one who stayed!!! She loved you more than you’ll ever know! You are what kept her going!!! I love you big!!!