(Verse 1) There’s times, I mean it so many times I put you first, and so many people Prioritize everything up above myself Playing the bigger person, high empathy End up so, so lonely End up mentality-destruction End up so, so lonely And it takes time, takes years, plenty To learn how to stand up for myself Prioritize myself first, up against it all Playing the bigger person, high empathy But know my boundaries Know my authority And sometimes End up so lonely But feel so freely (Pre-Chorus) Okay I finally understand Compassion without boundaries Turns into self-abandonment Oh right I don’t owe you my nervous system I don’t owe you access Just because I know your pain I can validate your feelings Without invalidating mine I can understand your trauma Without becoming collateral damage And if protecting my peace Makes me the villain in your story It’s ok , let me be (Chorus + smooth piano and smooth strings with 808 ) I Choose me This time I’m gonna choose me I won’t let my kindness Become your weapon against me I Choose me Even if you call it selfish I spent my whole life Making everybody else feel safe While I was dying inside No more emotional exploitation No more guilt disguised as love No more confusing tolerance With unconditional trust I Choose me If nobody else does I’ll choose me (Verse 2) I know about people-pleasing Fawning, hypervigilance The fear of interpersonal rejection And all those survival mechanisms I used to call it being loving But sometimes it was self-erasure So don’t confuse my softness With psychological availability Don’t confuse forgiveness With unlimited accessibility My empathy has a threshold My compassion has a limitation And my nervous system Is no longer community property (Pre-Chorus) Okay I finally understand Compassion without boundaries Turns into self-abandonment Oh right I don’t owe you my nervous system I don’t owe you access Just because I know your pain I can validate your feelings Without invalidating mine I can understand your trauma Without becoming collateral damage And if protecting my peace Makes me the villain in your story It’s ok , let me be (Chorus - stripped down & switch to big thick kick hip hop drum & piano loop smooth & richness with softly harmonization back up background vocal) I Choose me This time I’m gonna choose me I won’t let my kindness Become your weapon against me I Choose me Even if you call it selfish I spent my whole life Making everybody else feel safe While I was dying inside No more emotional exploitation No more guilt disguised as love No more confusing tolerance With unconditional trust I Choose me If nobody else does I’ll choose me (Bridge) Sometimes big heart win nothing but feel everything And I was raised that way, right dad? To take the high road Even when it breaks your feet To forgive before you’re ready To carry everybody else’s grief Maybe the lesson wasn’t “Give more” Maybe the lesson was “Give wisely.” (Breakdown) I don’t hate you I just see you clearly now I don’t resent you I just refuse to repeat myself I don’t need to become cruel To become unavailable I don’t need to lose my softness To become strong No resentment No revenge Just soft closure And softly closed my door (Chorus) I Choose me This time I’m gonna choose me I won’t let my kindness Become your weapon against me I Choose me Even if you call it selfish I spent my whole life Making everybody else feel safe While I was dying inside No more emotional exploitation No more guilt disguised as love No more confusing tolerance With unconditional trust (Outro) If nobody else does I’ll choose me Choose me My peace is not negotiable My boundaries are not punishment My kindness is not consent My forgiveness is not permission
