no matter how strong they seem.... no matter how brightly they shine.

When you’re the person who is always there for others ... you feel a lot. You have depths within you, an ocean for a heart, and you sometimes fall for people who are too afraid to swim. You give and you give and you give. You never know how to stop yourself from pouring into those you love.

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And so, there are moments where a tender ache sometimes forms within your unhinged chest. There are moments where you are left wondering if someone will ever give you the love you so freely give to others, moments where you wonder if there will ever come a time when someone asks how you are doing, how you are coping, how you are healing.

See, sometimes the person who is always there for everyone else, needs someone there for them. Sometimes, the person who smiles the biggest holds the biggest hurt. Sometimes the person who encourages everyone around them needs to be told that they are appreciated, that they matter; sometimes they need to be encouraged, sometimes they need to be held

no matter how strong they seem, no matter how brightly they shine.

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So, if you’re the person who is always there for others, know that your heart is rare. Know that you hold within you an ability to calm storms in people. Know that you give people hope, that you inspire them by acknowledging the pieces of them most ignore, that you make people feel wanted, that you make people feel like they have purpose.

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However, also remind yourself that you are not invincible. Your heart needs rest. You need rest. Remind yourself that you do not need to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, that you may not be able to save everyone, that you may not be able to heal every hurt. Remind yourself that you deserve to take all of the energy you put out into the world and invest it back into yourself from time to time. That you are worthy of the love you keep giving to everyone else. Remind yourself, that you don’t always have to be strong, that you don’t always have to be the fixer. Remind yourself that you can be human, that you can ask for help; that you don’t always have to be the one to save yourself.