Hi Meghan, I just finished reading your article and I must say that you write very beautifully. There are multiple things I'd highlight because of how well-written this piece is, but then almost the whole thing would turn out green. I decided to highlight this one sentence because there's something here that I think needs to be addressed.

Nobody knows you better than yourself, and what you know to be absolutely true can at times only be known by you. But as humans, we are also fallible creatures, and sometimes, we don't know what's best for us. Emotions can cloud our judgment and sometimes what we think we want isn't what we really need to help us.

This isn't to say unsolicited advice should be welcome and thrust into every conversation. But if you have a few people in your life you can turn to for advice, those who could do their best to provide an impartial voice born out of empathy and concern for your well-being, I'd say it wouldn't hurt to talk to them to double-check and see if what you think you need will actually help you.

Balance that with not letting others entirely carve your "should" for you and I think you'll do just fine!