They say, "We're proud of you, and I smile, Because I know they're just saying it to be kind, sugarcoating the truth so it doesn't hurt as much. I don't know how to believe those words when I've spent my whole life trying to earn them. My own parents are not proud of me, even after doing everything I could to make them happy, to be enough for them. So when anyone else says they're proud of me, it feels unreal, like a sentence meant for someone better, someone easier to love. I nod, I say thank you, but inside it aches. Because if the people I tried the hardest for couldn't see my worth, how is anyone else supposed to?