Like, growing up I have always heard
Or like, I was always hyperaware of
Things that the people around me who were charged with my care
Or told me, like, be silent or be quiet
Or be ashamed or hide
Or perform a version of myself that wasn’t really me
And so, I think that through my life I’ve always been hyperconscious
And aware of not going into spaces and seeking too much attention
Um, because part of survival is, like, being able to just fit in
To be seen as normal and to, like, quote-unquote belong
But I think that so often in society in order to belong means that we have to
Like, shrink parts of ourselves
