Part 3/5:
While these qualities are a gift, the narrator acknowledges a personal toll. Prioritizing others' well-being often came at the expense of their own needs. Growing up within an Asian cultural context, they internalized the belief that one’s happiness is intertwined with the happiness of others. An often-repeated phrase during their upbringing was, “Your happiness is when you see everybody else happy.”
This cultural influence deeply shaped their understanding of self-worth and happiness—shaping a mindset where personal fulfillment was secondary to the collective good. As a result, the concept of self-love and returning to one’s own sovereignty remained distant ideas during much of their life.