the other day, i was at basketball practice and overheard a girl say,
“sorry, i’m talking about so much random stuff.”

and something about that just made me so sad.
no one said anything. so i did.

i told her,
“girl, stop apologizing. i love people who talk a lot, especially about random things. those are the best kind of people.”

she looked at me and smiled.
that made my heart feel a little warmer.
i really hope she didn’t feel bad anymore.

isn’t it kind of crazy?

how we apologize for our own traits.
for being excited.
for expressing ourselves.
for having thoughts and saying them out loud.
for literally being ourselves.

trust me, when you meet someone like that, you start falling in love with yourself a little more too.

and yeah, i’m talking about love again.
real love does change you — for the better.
(if you’re reading this, thank you.)

but sometimes it’s not even romantic.
sometimes you realize it’s your best friend who makes you feel okay.
who reminds you that talking isn’t a flaw.
that saying what you feel is actually one of your best traits.

you might be wondering why some people apologize more than others.

there can be so many reasons.
sometimes it’s because they grew up feeling like they were “too much.”
sometimes it’s because they were interrupted often.
sometimes it’s because they learned that being quiet was safer than being honest.
sometimes it’s anxiety. sometimes it’s insecurity.
sometimes it’s just wanting to be liked so badly that you start shrinking yourself.

for me, it used to be someone i thought was a friend — someone who once told me i talked too much.
and just so you know, that’s not a friend anymore.
and honestly? maybe never really was.
a real friend wouldn’t make you feel small for being yourself.

remember this:
we don’t owe an apology for who we are.

the right people will never make you feel like you’re “too much.”
instead, they’ll smile.
they’ll support you.
they’ll listen.

so next time you feel like saying something like that?
pause.
look around. look at the people listening to you.
do you really think apologizing will change anything?

no.
it will only make you forget how worthy you already are.

you are not too much.
you are different, and that’s a good thing ♡

love,
hana