In case you need a reminder, people should be in your life for only one reason and that is to add to your happiness. But, I think for so many of us we have those people in our lives who we love so much but they don’t add to your life, they only take away from it.

For so long, I was allowing people to be a part of my life because of the idea that I “couldn’t live without them”. Here’s a new flash: you don’t need to rely on anyone to live. Without getting into details or naming names, just know that I have seriously lived through so many friendships that I held on to because I believed that the person meant well and that whatever they were doing wasn’t on purpose, but boy was I wrong.

When you’re going through hard times in relationships with anyone, there’s always the person that longs for the nostalgia that is associated with that person and that always is me. I constantly long for how friendships used to be or how people used to make me feel. I would let that constant fear of letting someone go who was once a huge part of my life dictate how I would act and react in situations.

I’d like to think of myself as someone who’s pretty assertive and doesn’t take bullsh*t but like I seriously have a soft spot for people that I genuinely care about at love, which I think we all do. I swear that this constantly leaves me upset and heartbroken because I never can let go, no matter how awful a situation is. Toxic people come in all shapes, sizes, genders, and personalities so not every situation will feel the same but just know that if someone isn’t constantly there for you and helping you better yourself, then they probably aren’t the best people to surround yourself with. They’re the friends that ghost you for months or the boys that try to control you and not allow you to live your life. They’re also the family members that don’t accept who you are or try and manipulate situations.

A huge reason why I know I let toxic people stay in my life longer then they’re welcome is because I have a fear of being alone. Crazy, right? It’s something so stupid but it seriously made me allow so many people to be in my life and treat me horribly. It’s hard to realize that people are toxic when you’re actively being their friend but afterwards you can see all the red flags you should’ve seen beforehand. Toxic people have no place in my life anymore so it’s time you cut them out of yours as well.

I always tell my mom I want this quote on my headstone when I die: “No matter who the toxic person in your life is, you cannot justify how they treat you because you love them”. This is the serious message that I want all of you to take away from this blog post. You deserve better and you are enough. I know it’s seriously so hard to believe that, especially when you are all alone but just know I believe that for you and I am routing for you. I’ve been through this myself and it all gets better. You have to believe me when I say let’s just get rid of the toxic people in our lives so that we can start living our best life in 2019.