Chapter Seven:

I don't know when it started, this feeling inside me that something was shifting. Maybe it was the exhaustion that never seemed to end, or the quiet realization that I couldn't keep up this act forever. Maybe it was the countless moments where I looked at myself in the mirror and barely recognized the person staring back - so wrapped up in the responsibilities that weren't mine to bear, so entrenched in the role of the dependable, the strong one, the rock.

But one day, it hit me. I started to recognize a voice inside, a quiet whisper that had always been there, but I had ignored for so long. It wasn't a loud rebellion, but a soft one. A quiet, almost imperceptible shift in how I saw myself. I realized that I wasn't just the person who handled things. I wasn't just the older sibling who held everything together. I was a person - an individual with my own needs, my own desires, and yes, my own struggles.

And for the first time in a long time, I started to ask myself: What if I deserve more? What if I don't have to carry everything on my own? What if it's okay to be tired, to be overwhelmed, to need something for myself?

It wasn't a dramatic change. It didn't happen overnight. It wasn't some grand declaration to the world that I was done being the responsible one. It was quieter than that. It was small moments where I started to say no. It was deciding that I couldn't take on one more task. It was allowing myself to acknowledge that I had limits. It was letting myself feel anger when I was pushed too far, and sadness when I realized how much I had sacrificed without ever being asked.

There's a guilt that comes with this quiet rebellion, a sense of betraying the people I love, the people who depend on me. I feel the weight of their expectations pressing down on me, the unspoken rule that I am the one who is supposed to keep everything in check, the one who will always be there. But now, I see things differently. I see how much of myself I've given away without even realizing it. I see how much I've lost in trying to be everything for everyone. And though it scares me to admit it, I can no longer ignore the part of me that wants more than just surviving.

I don't know what the future holds, but I know one thing for sure - I can't keep pretending that I'm fine when I'm not. I can't keep living for everyone else and ignoring the person I am. Maybe it's selfish. Maybe it's rebellious. But at least it's real. And for the first time, I think I'm starting to believe that I deserve to be seen for who I really am - not just for what I do.