no one really talks about how hard it is to be the daughter who stands on her own, the one who had to grow up faster than she was ready for and had no choice but to be strong. she carries herself like she's fine, like she has it all figured out, but deep down she's just trying to survive each day. she stopped depending on anyone because life taught her not to, learned that sometimes the people you expect to show up just won't, so she became her own support. she learned how to comfort herself when no one else did, how to push through even when everything inside her is tired. she pays her own bills, deals with her own pain, solves her own problems, celebrates her wins alone and wipes her tears in silence.