Take Care Of Yourself
Author Unknown (if you know who it is, please email me)

Take care of yourself
and by that I mean
I've watched you run 8 miles straight
and eat 4 strawberries for breakfast
and half a slice of toast for lunch (with a teaspoon of jam)
and pride yourself for being healthy

Take care of yourself
and by that I mean
I've watched you use the phrase "nothing is impossible"
as a weapon against yourself, a driving force to attain the unattainable

Take care of yourself
and by that I mean
you got that internship you wanted and the straight A's you desired
and I know you want a round of applause but sadly I can't join in
I watched you pop pill after pill and
never smile and wear yourself sick just to achieve your goal and
denied it when I asked why the little space under your eyes
were becoming black holes

Take care of yourself
AND BY THIS I MEAN
I sat and watched as you screamed in my face and got defensive when I said this
when I said "take care of yourself"
Because whatever chord those four words hit,
It hurt too much to bear
And you'd much rather be comfortable with being uncomfortable
and show everyone how wrong you think they are
Than admitting this all to yourself
And giving yourself a break

I hope you take care of yourself
Because you've turned yourself into a robot
Forced to oblige by numbers
set by calories and pounds and inches and grade point averages
and amounts of achievements and successes and wins
But can't remember the last time you slept in
Or treated yourself to the warmth of those chocolate chip cookies
made fresh and by hand
Or wrote an entry in your journal
Or had a deep soulful laugh
Or didn't turn down a night out with the friends you had
before they got tired of trying to reason with an empty being
Or even considered getting help (because you are human yet
strive to be spotless like an unboxed doll)
but please
because I can't force you, only hope for you
take care of yourself