9.Keep Running

[Verse 1] When I was four, five, I ran through the house My mother called my name all day; I wouldn’t sit still Toys broke one by one and I laughed out loud Banged my head on the door, then got up and ran again [Verse 2] At six I prepared for kindergarten New shoes, the smell of wet earth in the rainy season Riding to school my heart trembled in my chest But my legs beat fast, ready to run the whole field [Chorus] The teacher said I’m naughty, a hundred percent Can’t sit still, talks to myself, laughs by myself The word ADHD slipped from the teacher’s mouth Told my mother to take me for treatment But inside my head there were whole worlds waiting [Verse 3] The teacher wrote on the board while I drew pictures Friends read the alphabet; I watched clouds in the sky When the teacher asked, “Why aren’t you listening?” I answered in my heart, “I’m trying, I really am” [Chorus] The teacher said I’m naughty, a hundred percent Can’t sit still, talks to myself, laughs by myself The word ADHD slipped from the teacher’s mouth Told my mother to take me for treatment But inside my head there were whole worlds waiting [Bridge] In the clinic the light was cold and white My mother’s hand held mine, refusing to let go The doctor smiled and asked softly, “Are you tired?” I asked back, “Am I very wrong?” [Chorus] They said I’m naughty, a hundred percent But this is me, every breath and beat ADHD written on a single sheet of paper Yet my mother’s eyes still looked at me the same She said, “This child is good, in the way she is” [Interlude — Memory] I remember crying so hard I couldn’t see anyone The pain blurred everything; voices told me what to do Inside I heard only my own voice breaking apart [Verse 4] Raise your hand, stand up, sit down, count one two three They rewired my days with each instruction I thought the world was punishing me then I didn’t know it could also be a kind of embrace [Chorus] During treatment I cried until I had no strength left Felt forced to become a stranger in the same old mirror Now I see they meant well all along If only I had kept that chance, maybe I’d have gone farther But my story is not finished — listen to the next part [Bridge 2] Every command I once resented Now becomes a path I can look back on In the hot tears I once shed There is a tiny seed of healing hidden inside [Chorus — Resolution] During treatment I cried until I had no strength left Felt forced to become a stranger in the same old mirror Today I know they tried to help all along If I had held on to that chance it might have been different I would start again if I must My story can still be written — listen to the next part [Outro] I ran then, I run now; the world keeps moving I keep learning how to live inside this mind This is not the end; there are more chapters to come Stay with me and hear what comes next