In some homes
laughter can be heard from the doorway,
there are hands that hold dreams,
voices that say
\"I’m proud of you.\"
In others…
there is only silence.
I grew up in that silence.
There were no applauses when I tried something new,
no arms to catch me when I fell.
My dreams were things I kept hidden,
like secret letters
between the pages of notebooks.
If I wanted to learn something,
I did it in secret.
If I wanted to create something,
I did it when no one was looking.
Because no one ever asked
what lived inside my heart.
Sometimes it hurt…
to see others walking with support,
while I was learning
how to stand on my own.
I wondered
why some people are born surrounded by support
while others
are born surrounded by absence.
But time…
that silent teacher
taught me something.
Loneliness is not always a punishment.
Sometimes it is a refuge
that protects you
from hands that want to break you,
from voices that wish for your fall,
from false smiles
that can even come from family.
And then I understood.
That my steps,
even if they were lonely,
were real.
That my dreams,
even if no one celebrated them,
were still alive.
That it is better to walk alone
with a peaceful heart
than to be surrounded by people
who secretly hope you fail.
Because the one who learns to rise alone
doesn’t depend on anyone to keep going.
And even if the world
sometimes feels unfair…
the person who survived the silence
becomes stronger
than all the voices together.
@newgirldark