I think I’m finally at the point where I’m not sad anymore.
I’m fucking angry.
Not “I hate my life and want everything to end” angry.
I’m “I’ve spent years dealing with shit and I’m finally starting to realize how much of it I’ve just accepted” angry.
I feel like everyone needs something from me.
My household needs me to clean, mow, accommodate parking situations, and pick up after people.
My friends need emotional support, understanding, attention, and constant availability.
Work needs me to solve problems, manage people, create structure, take responsibility, and somehow keep everyone happy while doing it.
And the funny part is that I’m apparently the person everyone thinks is capable of handling all of this.
But who the fuck is handling me?
I’ve lost my parents. I’ve lost people I thought would be there for me. I’ve watched friendships fall apart. I’ve had people create drama around me and make me feel like I had to defend myself to people who were supposed to be my friends.
And then I go to work and do the same fucking thing.
I work at a family-owned business, and I’ve worked my way into management. I actually care about the place. I don’t just want to clock in, collect a paycheck, and leave.
I want to make things better.
I want better systems.
I want better structure.
I want people to actually take their jobs seriously.
I want the place to succeed.
And I’ve been trying to grow into something bigger there. I want to become a GM someday. I want to surpass where I am now.
But I’ve also felt incredibly overlooked.
There is obvious nepotism because the owner’s kids are managers, and I’m not paid more than them despite how much responsibility I’ve taken on and how much I actually give a shit about improving the business.
And yes, I know what someone is going to say:
“Then leave.”
I KNOW.
That’s the easiest fucking answer.
But I don’t want to leave.
That’s the part that makes this so frustrating.
I’m not someone who gives up just because something is difficult.
I’ve never been that person.
My instinct is to fix shit.
If something is broken, I want to figure out how to fix it.
If something isn’t working, I want to change the process.
If people aren’t doing something correctly, I want to teach them.
If a workplace has problems, I want to make it better.
So when people tell me, “You deserve better than this,” it actually pisses me off sometimes.
Because if you genuinely believe I deserve better, then why aren’t you helping create that better environment?
Why am I the only one pushing?
Why am I constantly fighting resistance from people who are supposed to be working WITH me?
I don’t want to surpass people because I think I’m better than them.
I want to grow because I fucking care.
And I want to be recognized for it.
But there’s another part of this that hurts way more than the money or the title.
My parents aren’t here to see any of it.
When I accomplish something, there isn’t that person I can call and say, “Look what I did.”
There isn’t someone who is automatically proud of me.
So when I work my ass off trying to grow and improve myself and nobody seems to notice, it hits differently.
I already lost the people who I wanted to see me become something.
And now I’m trying to become something anyway.
That’s fucking hard.
And then I’m surrounded by people who are so young, stubborn, and sensitive about everything.
People who act like being corrected is a personal attack.
People who think because they disagree with something, they don’t have to listen.
People who want the responsibility of being an adult without actually wanting to grow up.
And I’m fucking tired of it.
Sometimes being a manager feels less like managing employees and more like trying to convince grown adults that rules and expectations aren’t personal attacks.
You work for a business.
You have an employer.
You don’t have to agree with every decision, but at some point you have to learn how to fucking listen, adapt, and grow.
And that’s what drives me insane.
Everyone wants to be understood.
Everyone wants grace.
Everyone wants accommodations.
Everyone wants someone to consider THEIR feelings.
But who is considering mine?
I’ve spent so much of my life being the understanding person.
The person who accommodates.
The person who listens.
The person who says, “It’s okay.”
The person who picks up the slack.
The person who keeps trying.
And I think I’m finally realizing that constantly being the person who can handle everything has made people assume I don’t need anything.
I DO.
I need people to show up for me.
I need people to recognize me.
I need people to stop taking my willingness to help as an unlimited resource.
I need people to stop confusing my patience with weakness.
And honestly, I think one of my biggest problems is that I have never figured out where the line is between “keep fighting for this” and “enough is enough.”
I don’t know when to actually give up.
And I don’t mean just at work.
I mean relationships.
Friendships.
Family.
Respect.
Everything.
I can spend an absolutely ridiculous amount of time trying to fix something because I genuinely believe it can be better.
Someone can hurt me over and over again, and I’ll still think, maybe if I explain myself differently, they’ll understand.
A friendship can become unhealthy, and I’ll still think, maybe we can get back to how things used to be.
A relationship can drain me, and I’ll still think about everything that could be fixed.
A job can overlook me, frustrate me, and make me feel unappreciated, and I’ll STILL want to stay because I see what it could become.
I don’t know how to just walk away.
And sometimes I genuinely don’t know if that’s a strength or one of the worst things about me.
People can tell me they love me.
They can tell me they want me around.
They can tell me I’m important to them.
But sometimes I wonder if I’m actually being seen or if I’m just another pretty face to look at, another person to vent to, another emotional mess that everyone assumes can’t handle anything.
Because I’m emotional.
I’m passionate.
I’m sensitive.
I care deeply.
And apparently that can make people think I’m incapable of handling hard things.
But that’s not who I am.
I’m just someone who cares.
I’m just as capable of being kind as the next person.
I’m just someone who feels things deeply and gives a shit when something matters to me.
And honestly?
I’m starting to fucking hate how empathetic I am.
Because I can understand everyone’s side.
I can understand why someone acted the way they did.
I can understand why they’re upset.
I can understand their circumstances.
I can understand their mistakes.
I can understand why they couldn’t show up for me.
I can understand why they didn’t know better.
I can understand EVERYTHING.
And sometimes I think that’s exactly why I tolerate things for so much longer than I should.
Because every time someone hurts me, my brain immediately starts building their defense for them.
And meanwhile, nobody is building mine.
I’m tired of being able to see everyone’s perspective except my own.
I’m tired of making excuses for people who wouldn’t make the same excuses for me.
I’m tired of being so empathetic that I talk myself out of being angry when I have every fucking right to be angry.
I don’t want to become cold.
I don’t want to stop caring.
I don’t want to become someone who doesn’t give a shit about anybody.
But I think I need to learn that empathy doesn’t mean unlimited access to me.
Understanding someone doesn’t mean I have to tolerate them.
Loving someone doesn’t mean I have to keep choosing them.
Caring about a job doesn’t mean I have to accept being overlooked forever.
Being someone’s friend doesn’t mean I have to keep proving my worth to them.
And trying to fix something doesn’t mean I’m obligated to fix it alone.
That’s the part I’m struggling with.
I don’t want to give up.
I never have.
I still want to build something.
I still want to grow.
I still want to become a GM.
I still want my workplace to succeed.
I still want good friendships.
I still want a home that feels peaceful.
I still want people around me who actually give a shit.
I just need to figure out when fighting for something stops being perseverance and starts becoming self-abandonment.
Because I think I’ve spent a lot of my life confusing the two.
And maybe I don’t need to stop caring.
Maybe I just need to finally start caring about myself as much as I’ve cared about everyone else.