How We Shrink Ourselves in the Name of Goodness

The Cost of Giving Up on Your Dreams

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Sometimes, I write projects for students who are juggling jobs and simply don’t have the time to manage their assignments, projects, or thesis. I do it purely out of happiness – I never charge a single penny for it.

But recently, a friend told me a story she read. It was about a boy who used to create art and sell it to his master. In return, the master gave him just enough to live and survive. What the boy didn’t know was that his master was actually selling his art for a much higher price, earning a fortune from the dreams the boy poured into his work. When the boy eventually found out, the betrayal crushed him and he ended his life.

I don’t know exactly what my friend meant by telling me that story but the message I’m receiving is hard to ignore. Maybe she sees me as that boy – someone who’s compromising on her own dreams, quietly giving her best to others, yet never demanding her own worth. Someone who may lack the courage to challenge fate… and rewrite her own story.

The truth is it’s easy to fall into that trap. To keep adjusting. Adapting. Bending ourselves to fit the shape of others’ needs. We tell ourselves we’re doing something good. And we are. But in the process, we quietly shrink. We silence our hunger, our goals, our ambition not…