I’m sure we’ve all been guilty of using the “they haven’t texted me so I’m not going to text them” phrase before. But why did we start using it? We shouldn’t normalize it being okay not to check on people, even if they aren’t checking on you.

     Every single person deals with things that no one else knows about. Whether it’s something deep or something more surface level, you never know what someone is struggling with. That random check up on a person you haven’t talked to in a while could be the reason they smile that day.

      Some people don’t reach out because they are busy working on themselves, trying to keep themselves okay. That doesn’t mean they don’t want to talk to you. There could also be underlying reasons like they feel as if you don’t want to hear from them.

       Whatever the reason is, reach out anyway. Do it even if you feel like they don’t want to talk to you or it’s been too long so it would just be weird. They could have no one to talk to and the fact that you reached shows that someone does care. 

       Despite the troubles going on in your own life those simple interactions with others could benefit your OWN life. You’re giving each other an outlet that maybe neither of you realized you had because you didn’t take the extra step to check in. 

         Yes, it sucks when you think your friend would have texted you by now and they haven’t. But they could be thinking the same exact thing about you. Put your pride aside and be the friend they expect you to be, even if what they are dealing with may not be as big as what you’re dealing with. 

         Everyone feels things differently and deals with them differently too. You could be the type of person that no matter what you’re dealing with you put on a smile and hide those emotions, but they could shut everyone out because it’s the only way they can hold it together.

       Don’t discredit other people’s feelings and how they deal with it just because it’s different from the way you do. If you see signs that someone is acting different than usual or it’s been a while since you’ve heard from someone, text them. 

        A simple “Hi, how are you?” is better than ignoring the fact that someone may be struggling just because they didn’t text you. Be the bigger person. Be the difference. Check in on people.