What The Hell?

[SEAN]

Have you ever experienced a deep sense of helplessness? A feeling of desperately wanting something, but being unable to pursue it out of fear of hurting the people you love most? These situations are all too familiar in my life. I have become the epitome of sacrificing my own happiness for the sake of others’ comfort. As the eldest child, my family expects nothing short of perfection from me.

Anything less, and I am deemed a failure in my father’s eyes. Anything more, and I’m burdened with the immense pressure to maintain my own success. It often feels like I’m being squeezed from all sides. If I don’t take action to help myself, I fear I’ll suffocate in my own loneliness and perish.

I don’t understand how some people manage to remain happy no matter what. They don’t care about others’ opinions of them. They are unfazed when their parents act unreasonably, solely interested in molding them into a certain image—as if they were mere pets or show ponies, meant to be trained and gr