Long Writes His First Apology — To Himself
7/22/2026
2 min read
#OnMaTuTu
“Long, 27, an office worker, writes his first-ever apology after two years of never letting himself feel tired — to himself.”
— Long Writes His First Apology — To Himself
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9 p.m., Long sits in his rented room, holding a journal he bought last year that still has the crease from being folded shut. Two years into his job, he hasn't taken a single full day off, staying late until 9 or 10 p.m. is just normal, and he's never once told anyone "I'm tired."
Every time his body wants to stop — sore shoulders, aching eyes, a blank-out mind — the same line plays in his head: "Lazy. Other people push harder than you." It repeats often enough that he's started believing it's true, often enough that he's forgotten the last time he actually felt okay.
Tonight, Long opens the journal to its first page — the one that's never gotten past three lines in two years. Pen in hand, he doesn't write a plan or a goal. He writes: "Sorry for making you push through two years without letting you feel tired. Sorry for calling you lazy every time you needed rest. Sorry for comparing you to other people every single day."
It's the first apology he's ever written — not to a boss, not to anyone else, just to himself. It feels strange. But his chest feels lighter too.
Long closes the journal and leaves it on the desk, instead of putting it away in the drawer like he always does.
"Apologizing to yourself matters just as much as apologizing to anyone else."
When was the last time you apologized to yourself?
How did this story make you feel?