I used to think I had to care what people think.
That masculinity meant being stoic. That love had to follow a formula. That being hypersensitive was a flaw. That selfishness was wrong.
Now I see the truth:
I don’t have to care what people think. Not because I’m cold — but because most people are utterly irrelevant to the pursuit of my vision.
I used to try to fit in. Shrink myself. Cut off parts to belong. But I’ve lived through enough, suffered enough, grown enough to know I don’t want to belong to their world. I want to build my own.
Selfishness, properly understood, isn’t cruelty — it’s clarity. It’s choosing your life, your principles, your vision, without apology. And love? The real kind? I found it. Not in the predictable places, but in the fire-forged presence of someone who sharpens me every day.
Her name is Jade.
And I don’t just love her. I belong with her.
—Matt Livingston