Page Three: Learning to Stay Small
220 Words
Page Three: Learning to Stay Small
I have tried to explain myself before. I have opened my mouth and my heart, believing that if I just said enough, people would finally understand me. I thought honesty would bring closeness. I thought explaining myself would make things easier.
It never did.
Instead, my words were misunderstood, twisted, or shared in places they were never meant to reach. I learned that not everyone who listens is listening to understand. Some people listen to repeat. Some listen to judge. Some listen just to talk.
So I became more careful.
Yes, I know I can be lazy. I won’t pretend I’m perfect. I move slowly. I rest when I need to. I don’t rush life just to prove something to others. But being lazy does not give anyone the right to tell my story for me. It does not make my life public property.
There’s a difference between being quiet and having nothing to say.
I have a lot to say. I just learned the hard way that not everyone deserves access to it.
Every time my trust was broken, I shrank a little more. I stopped explaining. I stopped correcting people. I chose privacy over being misunderstood again.
Being quiet wasn’t me giving up.
It was me protecting what was left of myself.
- Writer
