Today I want to share about the feeling of *belonging* Feel..

Today I want to share about the feeling of *belonging* Feeling like *I belong* has always been a struggle for me, from being accepted in a friend group, from being accepted by coworkers, or just feeling accepted by others in general for who I truly am. Being so introverted and shy, it has always been really difficult for me to open up to others and let them know more about me, about who I truly am, what I like, what I don’t like, my values, my opinions, and so on. And I think that’s what made me feel like I didn’t belong anywhere really, the lack of connections. Feeling like you don’t belong anywhere is one of the worst feelings a human can experience as it’s so intertwined with loneliness. Feeling like no one really wants you here or that you don’t matter that much - no one should experience that. And it’s even harder when you don’t really know how to help yourself out of this situation. I know that by experience these feelings, the most important thing that I understood and took from it was that, all the time what I would be aiming for and what I would be going out of my way for is to always make others feel like they *do belong*. Like they matter, like they are accepted and they are okay just being themselves, with all of their quirks and imperfections. Thinking about it, it all just makes sense, how fulfilled being on here and providing love and support to you guys is for me. It just makes so much sense… To be able to provide a sense of acceptance, a sense of love and a sense of belonging, to make others feel like it’s okay to be themselves is so important for me *because* of what I experienced in the past, being left out, feeling like an outsider, feeling not good or cool enough, feeling like I’m boring, being left out and things like that.. you know, traumas and shit. We all got traumas. It’s so important for me to make others feel good, and reflecting back it made me realize that this aspect is definitely what made me the most excited for becoming a nurse when I was in college a few years ago as well. I thought that by helping others, making others feel better it would make *me* feel better. And it absolutely did. It just all makes so much sense. Wanting to provide what you lacked in your developmental years, or looking for comfort from those situations to heal from the past, it’s so human. I’m so grateful for this space. Thanks for hearing me and allowing me to reflect and evolve as a human, friends ♥️