I imagined I would thank you for many things:
for your presence,
your love,
even your existence.
But never before had I thought
that I would thank you
for not choosing me.

Although it may sound sarcastic,
I am serious.
Maybe I should loathe you,
or forget you.
But the fact is,
I thank you.

Thank you for choosing
not to choose me.
Thank you for giving yourself
a chance to choose someone else.

Sometimes we only find the truth
through endings.
And the truth is:
I don’t want to be chosen…
yet.

I don’t want anyone to find me,
because I’m not lost.
I’m not seeking to be fixed,
because I’m not broken.
I don’t want someone to choose me,
because I’m not ready.

When you didn’t choose me,
I realized that I needed
to choose myself more.
Our end helped me commune
with myself,
and made me commit to the process.

Thank you for not choosing me,
because you have opened up
a sea of possibilities for me.
Thank you for wrecking our boat,
because you made me see
that I should never let go of
building my own.

Know that not choosing me
is the best thing
you ever did for me.

Because you didn’t choose me,
I am choosing myself—
every day.
And someday,
someone
will choose me,
and they will thank you, too.

Author: Elyane Youssef

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Editor: Nicole Cameron