When you were a kid, do you remember when your brother, sister or best friend got something you wanted how you reacted? I remember how I reacted. The thing that I always wanted the most was to be treated and thought of by my parents the way I perceived they thought of my brother. I was a handful ( I know, surprising, right Lol). My parents put up with a lot from me, especially through my teenage years. My brother, on the other hand, was a pacifist. He was kind to all he met and never had a mean word to say to anyone. He always brought funny and nice to the table. He was an "easy" child, especially compared to me. I always wanted people to treat me the way they treated him but I couldn't get past all of the b.s. I always had to speak my mind whether it be to someone else or about someone else. There was a lot going on in my life at that time which jaded my perspective on interactions with people. Today sometimes I find myself leaning in the same direction, not with my brother, but with other interpersonal relationships. That need to be liked, that desire to please everyone, the need for people to understand me and want to be a part of my life is important to me. Everyday I have to check myself because my paranoia can get the best of me. For instance, on fb someone said something to someone else regarding something I am involved in and it came across that this person doesn't care about me like I thought they did. Maybe they don't, but my tendency is to go right to that thought. My insecurity shot through the roof immediately. However, I have learned that it is important to immediately challenge those negative perceptions. I know, I keep using the word: perception. The reason I use that is because a lot of times our experiences and our thoughts color the way we see our interpersonal interactions but it isn't necessarily the actual way things are. When I was a child, my parents loved me. They may not have loved me in the same way they loved my brother, but I was not and am not my brother. The most important thing for anyone to remember, including me, that it is most important for me to love me. People cannot love me if I don't love me and the same goes for you. People cannot love you if you don't love you....happiness and love starts from within. So, no matter what your perception is, be happy with who you are. It is a daily reminder for me, a daily affirmation that I am worthy of my own love and the love of others. So are you. Fall madly in love with you and you won't even need to worry about others. <3 <3 <3