What life has done to me is strange.

Photo by Melissa Askew on Unsplash

What life has done to me is strange.

From the outside, it looks fine. I have a decent job. I smile. I keep going.

But inside… I’m not always sure.

As a kid, I thought I had to become something big. A doctor. Someone important. Someone my parents could proudly talk about.

That’s what you’re taught Study hard. Don’t fail. Make them proud.

No one tells you what happens when you can’t carry that weight.

No one tells you about the anxiety. The quiet pressure. The feeling that you’re slowly disappointing people who believed in you.

And the worst part?

No one tells you that life doesn’t turn out the way you imagined.

That you might fail. Again and again. That you might become… average.

But here’s what I’m starting to realize

Even if you’re not special, even if you didn’t become what you promised, even if your life looks nothing like your childhood dreams —

you’re still allowed to exist. You’re still allowed to breathe. You’re still allowed to be okay.

And maybe…

that’s the part no one teaches you.