For more than 20 years of my life, I’d been a good sister, daughter, friend, aunt, cousin and girlfriend. When anyone called, I listened. If someone needed money, I produced it. Then a funny thing happened. I got tired.

Almost overnight, my reputation for being the dependable good girl and reliable woman vanished. I wondered what had happened to my service record. No one seemed to remember when I’d last jumped out of bed to drive someone to the emergency room or come over to babysit on short notice.

I was annoyed by how quickly and easily folks I knew seemed to turn on me. As time passed, I realized how long I’d cast myself in the role of the ultimate people pleaser. I’d been eager to win everyone’s approval, and I’d paid the price in pain.

Still, I’d been taught a valuable lesson: I finally learned to put myself first.