Remember: You Are Worth More Than Almosts ❤️

'I hope you have the courage to walk away from anyone that makes you feel like you are hard to love.'

Welcome to the Collective World X Thought Catalog Newsletter. Collective World is a one-of-a-kind creative network powered by the minds and voices behind The Thought & Expression Company. We’re so glad you’re here.

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We’ve all experienced it before—a relationship that isn’t quite a relationship. Someone who is interested in you but isn’t quite ready to admit it. Someone who wants you but isn’t quite ready to commit.

Yes, we all know the dreaded almost relationship. We know what it’s like to have a piece of someone, but never all of them. We know what it’s like to somehow convince ourselves that it’s enough.

We convince ourselves that the emotional hardship is worth the small, beautiful moments we share with them. We convince ourselves that we’re lucky to have pieces of them at all. Sometimes, we convince ourselves that these almosts are all we ever really deserved in the first place.

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A post shared by Bianca Sparacino (@rainbowsalt)

But next time you find yourself in this situation, remember this: You are worth more than almosts.

You are worth more than potential. You are worth more than second place. You are worth more than “maybe someday” and promises you know deep down will always be broken. Because love isn’t about what you hope will happen or what you wish could change; love is present tense. It’s about what’s right here in the moment. And if it isn’t what you need, it’s time to recognize that it’s not enough.

If someone doesn’t show up for you, I hope you realize it’s on them, not you. If someone promises to change in the future but isn’t doing the work now, I hope you see it for the excuse that it is. If someone doesn’t have a place for all of you in their heart, I hope you turn around and leave. Love is many things, but it should never be half-hearted.

Holly Riordan put it best when she wrote, “It’s a good thing your almost relationship didn’t work out because now you have the opportunity to find someone who fits you better. Someone who is excited to take that next step with you. Someone who doesn’t make you wait for an answer, wait for a text, wait for an actual date.” Because that’s what a relationship should be—not the hoping and wishing and waiting, but those tangible moments of action and commitment.

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A post shared by Bianca Sparacino (@rainbowsalt)

If you settle for crumbs, you’ll always be hungry for something more. And if you fall in love with all of somebody who can only ever love parts of you in return, you’ll never feel like you’re enough. But you are, completely and truly, and you deserve to be reminded of that every single day.

And when you find yourself stuck in an almost love, I hope you remember these words from Mara Croitoru: “Who chooses to stay, who chooses to show up consistently, that is what you will know as love. Because that is what love should have been all along.”

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What We’re Reading This Week 📖💛

• “You are a living, breathing testament to your own resilience. Your life is proof that you will emerge on the other side of even the most terrifying storms. You are doing so much better than you think you are.” — Brianna Wiest

• “Wishing myself a princess — or a time traveler, a witch, a ninja — I led my friends in games of pretend and disappeared into stories of intrigue and enchantment, always reading, always imagining, always dreaming of a different life than the one that I had.” – Jenny G. Zhang

• “You kept me like a secret, but I kept you like an oath.” — Taylor Swift

• “Show up, love him, give yourself a break, forgive yourself, keep loving him.” — Sophia Benoit

• “Comparing yourself to others is inevitable, but I’m a firm believer that once you find your voice (and, mind you, you can find it then lose it for a while then find it again), it becomes less about competing with others and more about solidifying your point of view and your unique footprint.” — John Paul Brammer

• “Healing is becoming conscious to when we unconsciously seek chaos.” — Dr. Nicole LaPera

For more reading recommendations follow Quote Catalog where we find and file the best things to read every single day.

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Let us leave you with this:

“You deserve to be loved and chosen—not almost loved, or almost chosen.” — Bianca Sparacino

Never let anyone convince you otherwise. 🤍

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