I’m someone who loves with all my heart. Romantically, platonically… it doesn’t matter. I will go to the ends of the earth for the people I care about. But do you want to know a secret? Not everyone in the world is like that. In fact, it’s kind of rare to find people like that; or at least find people who are so open about it. So what does that mean for people like me? It sucks.

My grandma always says that I am in love with the idea of love, and I fall in love every day. While sometimes this feels like it might be true, I would word it differently. I am in the love with the idea that people have big hearts, and I find someone new to want to share my big heart with. It’s a daily struggle, truly. Some of you might find amusement in this, and others might think I’m crazy. Either way, it’s true. I care too much about people.

Caring about people is not by any means a bad thing. Nor am I saying that it only brings bad things. I don’t regret the way I am (most of the time). I can’t change it, and I don’t want to change it. It’s a part of me. Sometimes, though, because I care so much, it has a negative response. Asking someone how their day is or if they are okay is something that becomes an annoyance to a person over time. Like I mentioned earlier, it is a rarity to find someone who cares as much about other people as I do; at least to me, it feels like that. It took me a long time to realize that; that not everyone wants to be loved or cared about, and that not everyone cares as much as one would like to think.

The question for me is why is this such a rarity? Or maybe a better question would be why is it such a rarity to find someone so open about caring about people? Have we really, as a society, come to a point where expressing your care for another has become something of the past? I know I’m not the only one who feels this way, I can’t be. Why are we so non-expressive of our feelings? I absolutely adore my friends, and yeah, I will let them know about it. I’ve been told countless times that I push too much, or that I’m just too much in general. Simply because I’m expressive over how I feel.

So yes, I care a lot about people. Some would say too much; I would disagree (in most cases). A stranger on the street is someone who could potentially use a friend. The homeless woman who comes into my work every other week for hours on end because she just needs somewhere warm to be is the woman who I found a friend in, who comments on my singing, and who I worry about constantly. Is that bad? To worry about a woman I hardly know? I don’t think so. Maybe it is. Maybe I’m just naïve.

My point is that it shouldn’t be socially unacceptable to care deeply about people and be expressive of that. Of course, you can’t force your feelings onto someone who isn’t willing to accept it, nor should anyone feel pressured to accept it. However, I think if we all started being a little more expressive, it wouldn’t be such taboo.

So this is it, this your challenge. Let the people in your life that you care about know that you care about them. If a stranger makes you smile when you haven’t smiled in a week, or just generally adds a little brightness in your day, tell them. If your mom makes your heart melt by having your favorite chips already in the kitchen before you go out and buy more, tell her. If your boyfriend or girlfriend makes you feel like you are floating in the clouds, tell them. If your friend makes you feel like you never have to worry about being alone again, tell them. Be a person who cares too much. It’s not always rainbows and sunshine but I promise it pays off in the end.