Put Yourself First

Hello friends! I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I've realized that I have a lot of stress coming from lots of different sources, and it's absolutely exhausting. I've put together a list of ways I want to put myself first and stop worrying so much about others, and hopefully this helps you, too.

• Cut off toxic people I've recently cut off the most toxic person in my life right now, and, to be very honest, it feels great. If you're not sure of what I mean by "toxic person," it's a person who is just a negative person in your life who, in some way, is holding you back or pulling you down, and not allowing you to grow into who you want to be. My person may not even know that they are toxic to me, but they make me so anxious wherever their name pops up on my phone, always fearful of what they need from me (because that's only when they would contact me as of late - we used to be inseparable), and has caused more sleepless nights that I can count. But I've started the process of cutting them out of my life, and it feels good.
• Find a true passion and a dream I have a few passions and a few big dreams, and they drive me in everything I do. I don't love being stuck in school and I would just go after my dreams now if I could, but I know school is necessary in today's world. So instead if having that diploma as my goal, my goal is making my dreams reality, with school as a platform to get there. As for passions, they help get through the day-to-day. When I'm not in school, I love baking and trying new recipes, crafting, writing blog posts, etc., and they get me through until I can go big with the dream chasing.
• Enjoy time by yourself I'm probably the least outgoing person you'll ever meet, so making friends, especially as a commuter, is near impossible for me. I spend a lot of time by myself, but I've learned to love it. I used to be a total bookworm, and had gotten away from it for a while, but I've recently fallen back in love with books. I've also found new music I love, coffee shops and libraries I love hanging out in, and stronger relationships with people I love because I spend so much time alone.

I'm sure there are a million other ways to put yourself first, but I think these are good ways to start and get comfortable with the idea.

I wish you all the best,
Erin