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Claudia Benitez's avatar

Amazing! I love that you included a prayer. It truly is a wonderful experience when we realize how important the relationship with the self is, it’s almost as if society distracts us from that essential truth of finding ourselves first before we find our partners. I’m so excited to read your next thoughts!!

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Khadija Mekhnache's avatar

tysm!! i like to include prayers at the end of each of my journals

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Suzi's avatar

Dude, I came from tiktok and your words inspired me to become a better writer. I really love how well organized and well written your sentences/paragraphs are. Everything are just *chef kiss*. It’s truly beautiful, I’m manifesting so I can write like you one day 😭🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

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Khadija Mekhnache's avatar

omds tysmm this means sm to me!!!

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Liyah's avatar

You have such a way with words this really has made me sit with myself, and think about the relationships I have with people in my life. I have needed to hear something like this for a long time now.

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Khadija Mekhnache's avatar

i’m so glad this helped you

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deisy's avatar

Hi I really enjoyed this read. I liked how you formulated your words and ideas to make this piece come to life. I think that having a good relationship with yourself is key for you to have relationships with others. What really resonated with me is that you don’t want to operate out of necessity or neediness but rather self love. :)

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Khadija Mekhnache's avatar

Exactlyy, I’m so glad this could help you

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Marjorie Alarcón Ojeda's avatar

Deja, i just read that you are 17. I cannot imagine how wise you will become since i am so impressed by how you articulated everything so beautifully in your writing. I hope that every person that feels like they are wrong for being single can find this and feel the embrace there is in every single word you wrote. I'll be looking forward your new writing. Warm regards from a 32 old single lady.

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Anna's avatar

Came from Tik Tok!! Amazing read!! Thank you for including a prayer at the end 💖

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Asia's avatar

thank you for sharing 🥹 especially with the prayer!! Much needed 💞

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AK's avatar

Thank you so much for putting into words what I’ve been feeling so deeply lately. I’m 10 years older than you and haven’t been in a relationship since I was almost 19. It does often sting to feel like everyone else just *gets* something about dating that I do not. In addition to everything you said, I want to add that these couples do not be happy. The big smiling faces you see are masking deep discontent. Not all of them, of course. + that’s somewhat bitter, so I try not to rely on it to soothe me. It puts things into perspective, though. While I am and have been longing to be seen — truly seen, & simultaneously seeing others — people look at my independence and self assuredness in awe. It’s all about perspective. Your head and heart are in the right places 🫂 hoping you’re loving on yourself extra hard today, as you make room for new love to find you

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Ayul's avatar

Thank youu, you perfectly described everything I was thinking about today. ❤️

Especially this part was spot on:

„ It's easy to feel like everyone around me has found their perfect match, leaving me to wonder if there's something wrong with me for not experiencing the same.“

Sometimes people say you just need to love yourself, without acknowledging that this will never replace the romantic love you could be yearning for. But it‘s true that the more we love ourselves the better our relationships with the people around us will be and the more likely it will be for us to actually find somebody that truly complements us.

I pray for everyone who reads this to find the love that they‘re yearning for and to learn to truly love themselves.🌷

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Aryanna 💞's avatar

as someone who is always 17, feeling left behind as all my other companions have had multiple relationships and romantic experiences while I havent had yet one, this was so important for me to read. We often consume ourselves so much into desiring what we dont have or forcing connections just to feel one in itself, that we forget that neglecting our core values just to be “apart of something” is sooo detrimental to ones growth. Amazing work love! ❤️

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Khadija Mekhnache's avatar

I honestly 100% hear you

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saun's avatar

This is truly beautiful! You’ve captured my thoughts and helped me understand what I’ve been feeling for so long

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yume :)'s avatar

I love this concept ♥️

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winter and chai's avatar

I was around your age when I decided that 'I would rather be alone than to be in bad company.' and this has saved me from so much unnecessary drama and toxicity because for me, my peace was my biggest priority no matter what. I love that you used the quote 'We accept the love we think we deserve' in this aspect, as I've never interpreted it from a self-love perspective.

Also, let me tell you something from my experience, it is always better to be alone (even lonely) than to be around people who make you feel lonely. So, choose yourself and build a great relationship with yourself. Not to replace romantic love or connection with others, but to create a baseline, a standard for what you accept from others and to never lose yourself to others.

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Leena S.'s avatar

I loved the balance that you highlighted in your post. While rationally we understand that finding love from a place of self acceptance and self love is essential to finding a healthy partner, it's also ok to feel the pain of loneliness. It's a universal experience and it think it's important to normalize this feeling and find comfort in knowing others are also going through it as well. I feel like there are a lot of people who are in unhappy and unfulfilling relationships simply because they are afraid to be alone.

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Malachi D.'s avatar

AMAZING READ, I can't wait for you to release "Navigating the Paradox of Innocence and Sin in Human Experience"

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Khadija Mekhnache's avatar

Thank you so much!!

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Malachi D.'s avatar

Of course!!! I'll be tuned in

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Julia's avatar

@sofia

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