“I don’t want you to save me; I want you to stand beside me as I save myself.”

I don’t like it when people pity me. I don’t like being a charity case. I’ve been thinking about that lately because I’ve had to explain that to people. This is what I’m coming up with:

I am not here to put my life on hold so that I can build up yours. I will not shove the bad parts of my life under my bed and into my closet to pile up until they become too large to handle. I am not here to constantly be your pet project. I am not here to make you feel like a superhero. My existence is not solely for the benefit of your self-esteem. I am not a disease; I am a person. I am not here on this earth so that you can say “I did that. I befriended a girl with _____” and have people think better of you. I am not here to beef up your resume. I am not an experience to be had, nor an object to be bought and used. I am not a prize to be won and marveled at, either.

I’m simply human, and to treat me like anything else is the ultimate disrespect.