On the outside, I smile.
I say the words everyone expects—
“Hey, how are you?”
“I’m fine.”
But the truth is, that’s just a mask.
Behind the mask, storms brew.
Emotions I don’t always show,
thoughts I can’t always explain,
pain I don’t always share.
I’ve lived so many days in repeat mode—
the same words, the same cycles,
like clocks stuck on the same time.
It feels safe to hide behind the mask,
but hiding only keeps me stuck.
The hidden struggle is this:
most people never see what’s really inside.
They see the surface, not the storm.
They hear “I’m fine,” and believe it,
when really, I’m just trying to keep it together.
But I know now that pretending doesn’t heal me.
Honesty does.
And when I start to honor my truth—
even when it’s messy, even when it hurts—
that’s when healing begins.
NO LABELS JUST HUMAN 