They talked so long,I learned their words, Wore every label like it hurt. Somewhere between their voice and mine, I crossed a line I couldn't find. They said too quiet,said too strange, Said I would never really change. Too cold,too angry,too intense, So I built walls and called them sense. Every joke became a scar, Every whisper traveled far. I learned to smile,I learned to fake, Learned how much a face can take. Then one night I heard myself Repeating everything they said. And I wondered when their voices Started living in my head. I am not the version they created, Not the name they used when I was hated. Not the picture drawn by people Who never stayed to know me well. I was buried under expectations, Under rumors,under accusations. But underneath the noise they gave me, I'm still here,I know myself. I stopped calling,I stayed home, Made being lonely feel like control. Changed my clothes,changed how I spoke, Turned myself into their joke. Online I wore another face, Someone fearless,someone safe. Funny how a made-up name Could feel more honest than my name. But hiding doesn't make you free, It only makes the room feel small. And the people who once broke your trust Don't get to represent them all. I am not the version they created, Not the name they used when I was hated. Not the picture drawn by people Who never stayed to know me well. I was buried under expectations, Under rumors,under accusations. But underneath the noise they gave me, I'm still here,I know myself. Maybe you still hear them too, Years after they forgot your face. Maybe you became much smaller Just to fit inside a safer place. Tell the story,even badly. Say the words you never said. You don't have to keep their voices Renting rooms inside your head. You are not the version they created, Not the name they used when you were hated. Not the shadow of a judgment Made by someone passing through. Let them keep their old conclusions, You don't owe them explanations. Take your name back,take your future, Come back to the real you. I spent years becoming Who they told me I had been. Now I'm meeting myself again, And I like the man I see.
