I Thought I Was Okay — Until That Moment Proved I Wasn’t

No One Saw Me Break. But I Did. And That Should Be Enough.

Photo by Callum Skelton on Unsplash

Non- members can read here.

It was just a sound…

A sudden loud noise — a laugh, a shout, something my friend said that caught me off-guard. But in that moment, it shattered, something in me. Not because the sound was cruel. Not because it meant harm. But because I was already holding too much.

I was having a bad day — the kind that simmers beneath the surface, quietly dragging your thoughts into a whirlpool of fatigue and frustration. Then came the sound. And suddenly, my chest tightened, my eyes welled up, and all I could think was: I have to cry now. Otherwise, how else will I survive this moment?

When the Past Leaks Into the Present

We carry so much more than we allow ourselves to admit. All the things we’ve been through: the way family talked to us, the silence of friends when we needed them most, the judgement of teachers who didn’t understand, the casual cruelty of relatives and neighbors who believed they knew what was best for us.

Layer upon layer of unspoken pain builds over the years. And even when life starts offering us good things — love, kindness, care — we…