Dear World,

The saying goes, “Sing like no one’s listening, love like you’ve never been hurt, dance like no one’s watching, and live like it’s heaven on earth.” – William W Purkey

But what happens when you sing a little too loud, and the room goes quiet? When you move in a way that feels free but someone decides it’s too much?
What happens when you try to live boldly, unapologetically, while knowing full well that people are watching?
It seems the only time we’re accepted is when we’re small…quiet enough, careful enough, easy enough to digest.

Why does love feel like a one-way street for anyone who dares to show up fully?
Some days, “misunderstood” feels like a second skin. Something we wear even when we’re trying to fit in.
I could’ve sworn I tattooed the word across my forehead the day I shared “30 things I’ve learned by my 30th birthday,”only to be labeled a know-it-all instead of a human being— 
A hermit with external skin, someone who has deeply lived and learned. 
The taste of confused gazes makes it all feel not just real but bittersweet.

What if connection isn’t about needing more, but about wanting to be known?
 To share a thought, a spark, a feeling without it being misread or dismissed.
And still, it gets misinterpreted at every turn.
But I know something now that I didn’t before:
The battle to be understood is not the battle worth fighting. The real victory is in surviving at all.
I fought a ‘silent war,’ one I was never supposed to win.
 But I did.
I escaped with my life and built something greater. Something unbreakable.
 A life filled with love, with defiance, with choice.

And so, I’ve been left with an ultimatum: 
Shrink to survive…
Or let this voice become a flame.

Dan Harmon once said, “Find your voice, shout it from the rooftops, and keep doing it until the people that are looking for you find you.”

To that, I reply with a voice of my own:
 “If there ever comes a time where you have to choose between light and letting the fire die—I hope you choose to ignite.”

Sincerely,


Someone you’ve almost seen