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Check on Your Strong Friends

Who Checks on the Strong Friend? (Yeah, I’m Talkin’ to You.)

They always say, You got this. But like, who got YOU, sis?

Oh, you know the drill. You are the crisis hotline, the therapist with no couch, the one everyone leans on. The one who holds it together when the world’s falling apart. The backbone. The glue. The fixer.

You are the calm in chaos, the shoulder to cry on, the person who somehow always answers the phone even when your own world is in full blown crisis mode.

And you do it with grace. You smile through storms like it’s your skincare routine. You’ve mastered the art of laughing while your chest feels heavy. You show up, pour out, lift others but tell me this, Who the hell is checking on you?

People forget that strong doesn't mean invincible. It means you’ve just gotten good at faking it. You’ve learned how to cry in the shower, then hop out like nothing happened. You give love like Oprah gives away cars YOU get some peace, YOU get some hope!  But meanwhile? Your tank has been flashing E since 2022.

Strength is sexy until it becomes your prison.
Until people stop asking if you are okay because they just assume you are. You always are, Right?

And worst of all? You start assuming that too.
Wanna talk about burnout? Let's talk about how hard it is to admit you need help. That you're tired. That you're not okay. That being the strong one... is slowly breaking you.

But you don’t say it.

Because strong girls don’t complain.
Strong men don’t whine.
Strong people don’t ask, they give.
Right?

Wrong.

Let me tell you what the world won’t.
You are allowed to sit the hell down.
You don’t have to carry the team every damn day. You deserve rest. Peace. Reprieve. Not just the you good? texts that mean nothing, but actual, intentional support.

Because being strong doesn't mean you are the superhero.

Check on your strong friend?  What’s been heavy for you lately? (Yes, get nosy.)

Do you have space to breathe this week, or are you barely hanging on?

Can I take this specific thing off your plate? Seriously, send it to me and  I will just get it started.

Because we love our strong friends. We really do.
But sometimes loving them means forcing them to take off the cape.

And if YOU are the strong friend?

Yeah. You. Reading this with your jaw clenched, holding back that one annoying tear that always tries to sneak out when you feel seen?

Let me say this loud enough for the people in the back of your mind

You are not a burden. You are not too much. You are not required to be the light when you are barely holding a spark. You get to feel. To falter. To be tired. You get to not be okay and still be worthy of love and support. You are allowed to say, I need help. You are allowed to cry. To rest.

And if no one has asked you lately..
How are you really. Like, really really.

Because you pour so much into everyone else, but who waters you?
Who sits beside you when your silence screams?
Who hugs the backbone of the home, the support beam of the company.

You have permission.
Let the crown slide off.
Put the damn cape in the wash.
Cry if you need to.
Rest if you must.
Fall apart if you have to, you will rebuild.

This world expects so much from you and rarely gives you the grace it demands from others. But I will. Right now, I will. You are seen. You are loved. You matter beyond what you give.

To the woman who’s always giving but doesn’t feel it returned…
To the man who’s exhausted but scared to admit it…
To the friend who always shows up, even when they are falling apart…

This one’s for you, the strong ones.
Now go drink water, cry a little, and stop trying to save the whole damn world before breakfast.

We need you whole.
Who Checks on the Strong Friend? It’s me! I’m checking on you.

🖤Chi

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