Prompts · 10 min
Who did you stop being to be loved?
This is not a question to answer quickly. It is a question to live with for the length of a walk, a bath, a slow evening. Bring a pen when you're ready.
Every one of us has a small graveyard of selves we buried in exchange for love. A loud child who learned to be quiet. A soft boy who learned to be hard. A dreamer who learned to be practical. A feeler who learned to be fine.
None of these adaptations were failures. They were how you survived the room you were in. But some of them have outlived their usefulness, and they are still running the show.
Write, slowly
- What did I love, freely, before I knew anyone was watching?
- Who was the first person whose approval I learned to need? What did I change to get it?
- What part of me do I still hide, even from people who say they love all of me?
- If nothing about me had to earn its keep, what would I let return?
You did not lose yourself. You loaned yourself out. It is time to ask for the pieces back.
You do not have to finish this in one sitting. Some questions take a season. Let them.
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