Hi Becky, Lily and Jessa,

I really want to thank all of you for sparing time to read my post and helping me with your advice. I had a word about the whole situation with my mother too. And she too, shares the same opinion, that in this harsh world, I need to take care of myself. It might be my low self esteem because of which I probably tend to ignore my own importance or the fact that my feelings are just as important as anyone else’s. For instance, only yesterday night she called me a ‘pushover’ very conveniently. Though she apologised, I was hurt by her words. And I took the first step towards being gently confrontational (or was I being passively aggressive?) by just being a little cold. I avoided conversation for a while and answered only when I was asked something. I think she did understand that she was sort of mean to me. I am taking baby steps towards standing up for myself. I don’t know whether I really am a pushover. No one has ever told me that. I believe in the concept of karma which keeps me at peace about all those people who I feel have somehow wronged me in life. But, I think what all three of you have suggested is something that I really need to work on. I will start taking care of myself. Thanks a lot for your valuable advice! 🙂