Not Everyone is Going to Like Me

I hate being disliked. It’s quite literally the worst thing on the planet. I come home from every social outing replaying each moment, hoping I didn’t offend anyone or worrying that I did something wrong.

I’m aware of how “pick me” this sounds, but stay with me, there’s a resolution at the end, okay?

Two years ago, I experienced the worst friend betrayal of my life. It left me feeling alone and completely consumed by my thoughts.

So, I started making and delivering baked goods to people I admired and wanted to be friends with. It was a way to cope and if I’m being really honest, a way to bribe friendships.

Two years later, I’m still making deliveries. To my friends, to people who are struggling, and to those the Lord has impressed on my heart.

But now I’m learning something hard: They can choose not to like me. They can choose not to reciprocate my friendship.

BUT WHY? Why does it take up so much of my energy? Why do I let people who don’t even like me disrupt the rest of my life? Why do I sit and try to figure out where things went wrong? Why do the few who dislike me take up all the space in my brain? Why do I obsess?

I don’t know either.

So here I am, walking on the treadmill, thinking about how to let go of this situation. How to find peace in my own heart…

And then I’m reminded of my friends.

DUH, Daisy.

I truly have the most amazing friends. I am surrounded by incredible women who have carried me, cried with me, gossiped, and giggled with me.

And they weren’t easy to find. I waited 25 years to find friendships like these.

I’m realizing that if I spent more time showing them how thankful I am for their friendship, then the “haters” would seem significantly less… significant.

Maybe peace isn’t found in being liked by everyone… but in loving the ones who already chose you.

So I’ve decided: I’m going to write 1–2 snail mail letters every week to people I love. I’m going to tell them how much they mean to me and how grateful I am for their presence in my life.

I might even add a loaf of bread too.

No bribe attached.

-Daisy