Conclusion.

I love people insanely. I have an enormous heart & I've been accused of being too sensitive for years. Yet, if I defend myself or become aggressive...I'm an "evil bitch" or "too dramatic"? Really?
This is the conclusion I've come to, finally: The Golden Rule is "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Simple, sweet & so true. But, more often than not I find very few people actually follow this.
I am no longer going to exert more effort than I need to (or have the time to) towards those who don't do the same for me. Because what ends up happening are two things: Bitterness towards and Mistrust in those people. Friendships & relationships suffer as a result. You, as one person, can only do so much.

Honestly, if you are in my life, it's because I assume you want to be in it. I am hoping I don't get proven wrong...but it's happened before. It will probably happen again. Sometimes people just "outgrow" each other...or realize the friend/relationship they had was never really "real"...we are ALL guilty of that, at one point or another.
But, I am usually blinded by love/care for people (which translates to getting stepped on, ignored, taken advantage of or treated unfairly.) This needs to stop.
I enjoy my life. There are things I am not ecstatic about...but, at the end of the day, I AM happy and I know I am where I am at because of the choices I have made. I just hope those I choose to surround myself with are always gonna have my back. And if they aren't? Well, there's the door.
I'm fully accepting the things I cannot change. You can't control people, ever. You can only truly control YOURSELF.

Now that this is off my chest, I feel a sense of peace I haven't had in a LONG time. Thanks for "listening." :)