Things understood and hopefully learned, today (in some cases, again):

• It's always worth the extra moment to stop and gauge your heart before swallowing someone else's verdict on you, before responding especially when your emotions are already at high pitch and when you are afraid (sometimes it answers the fear altogether) because the heart knows (wise) things the mind doesn't and if you keep listening to it, its voice gets louder. 
• That when people say "do what's best for you" they often mean "quit considering others". I think the better advice would be "listen to your heart and what it values" because that usually includes everybody (yourself too) without losing sight of humanity and integrity.
• There's a subtle difference between conviction and integrity. Conviction will let you act without honoring yourself, but integrity will not.