All my life I could never say no. I could never tell someone when they are pushing the limits and starting to hurt me or take advantage of me. Because of that, I was taken advantage of, a LOT. Family members, friends, lovers, you name it. But, it wasn't until recently that I learned that it is okay to say no.

Now, I try my best not to let anyone push me around. Once I got to college I met a lot of really good people who taught me how to stand up for myself. I learned that I do not need to sacrifice my own happiness for others and that just because someone feels the need to put me down because they are down on themselves, it is alright for me to say: that is not okay.

Granted, it's still a working progress for me because, there are people in my life or used to be in my life that were close to me, and they still felt the need to push me around, if that makes any sense at all. Those are and were the people that are and were hardest to stand up too.

I also did not intend for this article to be super long, I just wanted to vent about the fact that I've always been people's punching bag, people took advantage of my kindness and used it way too easily to their advantage, and if this article sounds at all like you, I am here to tell you to stand up for yourself. It may be hard because you hate confrontation (like me), it's someone you love, or its a friend and you are afraid you may lose them (I was scared of that, and if you do, it means they aren't true friends). Everything will work out the way its supposed to, just give it time. But never EVER let anyone walk all over you.