The Freedom of Not Needing to Be Chosen

There was a time when I desperately needed to be someone’s priority.
I thought love meant being chosen.
I thought my worth was tied to how much someone showed up for me, how quickly they texted back, how often they included me in their plans.
When they didn’t, I questioned myself.
Was I not good enough? Was I too much? Not enough of something?

The truth is, that cycle was exhausting.
It left me waiting for validation that never seemed to come and trying to prove my value to people who didn’t have the capacity to see it in the first place.

But today, I’m free.
Not because the people in my life suddenly learned how to prioritize me, but because I stopped needing them to.

Freedom came when I realized that my worth isn’t dependent on anyone else’s ability to recognize it.
It’s mine.
It’s been there all along, buried under the noise of comparison, rejection, and longing to belong.

Here’s what I’ve learned:

• When someone chooses me, that’s beautiful.
• When they don’t, I am still whole.
• When my phone is silent, my value is not diminished.
• When plans fall through, it doesn’t mean I fell short.

The people who show up for me are a gift, not a requirement.
My peace no longer hinges on their presence or absence.

So today, I stand free — free to love deeply without clinging, free to give without expecting, and free to walk away when staying costs me my self-worth.
If you’ve been waiting for someone to make you their priority, let me tell you this: you don’t need to wait anymore.

Make yourself your priority.
Choose your own healing.
Love yourself so fiercely that their absence no longer feels like abandonment, just an open space where your peace lives.