Page 147 of Wish You Were Mine
2. Don’t apologize for resting. (You don’t have to earn your worth with exhaustion.)
3. Don’t measure your value by what you get done. (You are just as lovable when you’re curled up in bed doing nothing.)
4. Don’t worry about disappointing anyone. (The people who truly love you won’t break if you take a day off.)
5. Don’t scroll. Do not study. Do not strategize. (Drink water. Nap. Stare at the ceiling. That’s the assignment.)
6. Don’t try to be perfect. (I’m not in love with your résumé. I’m here for you.)
7. Don’t forget that you’re already enough. (Even if the only thing you do today is breathe and be here—that’s still enough.)
Love,
The guy who couldn’t stop falling for you just as you are.
I read the note a second time, then a third, tears gathering at the corners of my eyes as I read his simple, yet profound words.
It wasn’t that his “To-Don’t” list was revolutionary or poetic or the kind of thing people posted online to go viral.
It was the fact that somehow…he knew.
In the short time we’d known each other, Owen saw me more clearly than anyone else ever had.
He saw past the medals and the GPA and the relentless schedule I clung to like armor. Past the performative smile I wore when I was exhausted but didn’t want to disappoint anyone.
He saw the part of me that believed I had to earn love. Thatunless I was achieving something remarkable, I ran the risk of not quite measuring up.
That if I wasn’t impressing my parents or chasing the next big goal, I might not be worth sticking around for.
I’d spent years hustling for my worth, piling more and more onto my plate because if I was ever caught just sitting around doing nothing, maybe my friends and family would finally realize I wasn’t actually all that special. Sitting around and “just being” wasn’t a luxury I could afford to take.
But with Owen…he made it feel possible.
Like, maybe I didn’t have to do anything to deserve love.
Like maybe I could actually take a break—stop striving for just a moment—and still be worth loving.
I curled the little cow into my chest, the weight of it settling over my heart.
I’d never been one for stuffed animals before, but I suddenly knew this cute little brown-and-white cow would be traveling with me to all my meets and sleeping in my bed every night.
My phone was still sitting on the passenger seat. I reached for it and opened a new message to Owen.
Me: I just found the surprise in my backpack. I don’t even have words right now. But thank you. For seeing me. For reminding me I’m more than what I achieve.
Also…this little cow? Definitely my new emotional support animal.
I hitSend, pulled the cow in close again, and let myself sit there in the quiet car, breathing in lavender and love and the strange, wonderful calm of finally being seen.
My phone buzzed in my hand a moment later.
Theo’s friend: I’m glad you liked it. I just wanted to give you something small to hold onto when your world gets loud. Something to remind you that you don’t have to earn peace or rest or love. You already deserve it just by being you.
Another buzz.
Theo’s friend: Also, I had to resist the urge to buy the entire barnyard. There was a lamb, a sloth, and a ridiculously smug-looking penguin. But the cow just felt like you. Soft. Strong. A little unexpected. And completely lovable.
A tear slid down my cheek and I smiled so hard it hurt.
