Chapter 6 – Walk Alone, But Walk StrongDear future me,If you are reading this, maybe you already removed some people from your life.And maybe now, the road feels quiet.Too quiet.I know this feeling.It is the moment after you close the door on someone who hurt you.The air feels cleaner, but the room feels empty.You start wondering, “Did I do the right thing?”Let me answer you — yes, you did.When you walk away from bad people, it will always feel lonely at first.Your phone will be silent.Your weekends might be empty.You might see photos of them with others and feel like you lost something.But you didn’t lose anything.You just made space for better things to come.I want you to remember this:Being alone is better than being with people who make you feel lonely while you’re with them.I have lived that life — surrounded by faces, but feeling unseen.It is like standing in a crowd but still feeling cold.Future me, I hope you know your worth.I hope you never run back to bad people just because the silence feels heavy.Silence is not your enemy — it is your teacher.In the quiet, you will hear your own voice again.You will hear your thoughts, your dreams, and your real feelings without anyone else’s noise.Right now, I am scared of walking alone.I keep thinking, “Who will be there if I fall?”But here is the truth I am learning:When you walk alone, you learn to stand by yourself.And when you can stand by yourself, no one can push you down for long.There is a strange kind of power in being alone and still moving.It builds your strength like nothing else.It teaches you that your happiness is not in someone else’s pocket.It lives in your own hands.Yes, you will meet new people one day.People who respect you, support you, and want the best for you.But they will come when you are ready —and you will only be ready if you spend this time alone learning yourself.Don’t waste your single, quiet season wishing it away.Use it to grow.Use it to do the things you couldn’t do when bad people were holding you back.Use it to heal.I know the nights might feel long.I know there will be moments you pick up your phone and almost call the wrong person again.In those moments, stop.Breathe.Remember why you let them go.Remember the way they made you feel small, the way they drained you, the way they turned your kindness into something they could use.Do not let loneliness trick you into reopening a door you fought hard to close.Some doors must stay shut forever.Future me, I want you to walk strong even if you walk alone.Hold your head up.Look forward, not back.Your worth is not decided by how many people are beside you.It is decided by how true you are to yourself.So if today you are the only one clapping for yourself — clap louder.If today no one checks on you — check on yourself.If today you have to carry all your own weight — carry it with pride.Don’t be me, the me who feared the quiet.Be the you who turns the quiet into strength.Walk alone, but walk strong.---
