A lot of things have changed.

I used to believe that, in order to make myself happy, I had to try my very best to make everyone else around me happy.

So I made people happy the best I could. I listened the best I could. I felt their pain. The best I could.

I was miserable.

Then a loved one told me this. How can you make anyone happy if you aren't happy yourself?

I thought on that for a while. I cried on that for a while. I looked back and realized that the advice I gave was shit, that the pain I felt was moot, and the people I loved didn't love me back.

I'm no longer a listener.

A lot of close friends have left me because I no longer agree with everything they say and do. Because I no longer am there for them at the sacrifice of my own well being and happiness.

It's safe to say that they were never really my friends at all.

But you know what? I'm making decisions for myself now.

I'm happy now. For the first time in such a very long time, I'm actually happy and content with my life.

My smiles are real now.