I believe in being selfish.
The word selfish has always had a negative connotation. But something I have learned over the last few months is sometimes being selfish is the best thing you could be.
Mental health issues are a growing problem in the United States, especially on a college campus and I recently learned that I have fallen a victim to them as well. After years of stress, putting others happiness before mine, and not taking time for myself, it had finally caught up to me. I never even realized there was something wrong until I was diagnosed and realized this was something I struggled with my entire life and it was right in front of my eyes. I could tell you the smallest details about other people in my life but couldn’t recognize the biggest detail of mine. That’s when I learned that I needed to be more selfish. I have to put myself first sometimes.
So many young adults suffer from these issue as well. People are so stuck to the idea of what life should be like, no one stops to ask what they actually want. This causes so many people to become overwhelmed by the amount of time and effort they’re throwing into school work or their job and unfortunately leads to suicide or to something else like a mental breakdown. This shouldn’t be happening. We need to start telling others to be selfish. Take a step back, take a breath, ask what is it that they want. We need to make ourselves happy before making others happy because they go hand in hand. When someone is happy, they instantly make others happy.
Recently I have started putting myself first. When I’m not okay, I deal with that first and foremost. If I need a night to myself, then I take it. If someone is hurting me, then I take a step back from it. If I’m putting countless hours into something that doesn’t make me happy, then I change that. I’m responsible for myself before I’m responsible for anyone else and that is something no one taught me. If others could be a little more selfish then maybe they could realize they’re actually suffering from a mental health issue as well and get proper treatment or maybe being selfish can even prevent such things. No one ever told me to put myself first because that’s selfish. Finally I am learning that being selfish is okay. If I had never been through what I have, I would never know that the word “selfish” can have a positive connotation. At the right time, being selfish is the least selfish thing you could be, for yourself and for others.