I Made Myself Smaller So No One Would Leave

I shrank for years — quieter opinions, lower standards, fewer needs — convinced that taking up less space would make me easier to love. It didn’t. It just made me disappear. Getting my confidence back didn’t come from a pep talk. It came from keeping one small promise to myself, then another, until I believed me again.

— Anonymous

Sit With This

Where have you been making yourself smaller to keep the peace?


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