Love Me First

They always told me love somebody right…

But nobody ever taught me

How to love the person looking back in the mirror.

Yeah… this one’s for me.

I spent too many nights tryna fix somebody else,

Giving everybody love while neglecting myself.

I was filling empty hearts with the pieces of mine,

Wondering why I felt broken every single time.

I gave away my peace just to watch somebody smile,

Told myself I was fine, been pretending for a while.

Had to learn that being needed ain’t the same as being loved,

And sometimes saving yourself means admitting you’ve had enough.

I used to hate the mirror, couldn’t stand what I’d see,

Just a man full of scars staring back at me.

But those scars tell a story, every line is proof,

That I survived the nights I thought I wouldn’t make it through.

I gotta love me first, before I love somebody else,

Can’t keep giving away a heart that needs some help.

Gotta heal these wounds, gotta find my worth,

Gotta learn to love the man that I was since birth.

And I won’t apologize for choosing my peace,

For giving my tired soul a little room to breathe.

If I’m ever gonna love you the way you deserve,

I gotta learn to love me first.

I ain’t perfect, never claimed that I was,

Made mistakes in the name of what I thought was love.

Held on too tight ’cause I feared being alone,

Made a home out of people when I needed my own.

Had to stop saying sorry for the space that I need,

Had to quit letting guilt put a chain around me.

I’m allowed to have boundaries, allowed to say no,

Allowed to take my time, allowed to outgrow.

And loving myself doesn’t mean loving you less,

It means I can give my best without losing what’s left.

I can stand beside somebody without needing them to stand,

Just to prove that I’m worthy of the person that I am.

To the younger me…

I’m sorry for the things that I said.

For every time I called you weak

When you were just tired instead.

You deserved that kindness,

You deserved that grace.

You deserved to feel love

Without earning your place.

I gotta love me first, before I love somebody else,

Gotta recognize my worth, gotta care for myself.

I’ll still give my heart, but I won’t disappear,

Won’t abandon who I am just to keep somebody near.

And I won’t apologize for choosing my peace,

I’m becoming the man I was always meant to be.

If I’m ever gonna love you the way you deserve,

I gotta learn to love me first.

I ain’t selfish for healing…

I ain’t wrong for growing…

And the next time I say “I love you”…

I’ll know how to say it to myself, too.