We are so afraid of being forgotten that we forget ourselves first.
Then, slowly, the nothing became a room. A quiet, honest room with no mirrors facing outward. Inside that room, I wrote poems that made no sense to anyone but me. I painted shapes that didn’t need to be “branded.” I cried without narrating the crying. I laughed because something was actually funny, not because it would look good in a caption. ala melissa set
— Ala Melissa
Let me explain.
Being invisible, I realized, is not disappearing. It is refusing to be a ghost for other people’s convenience. It is saying: you may not see me right now, but I am building something that will outlast your gaze. We are so afraid of being forgotten that
We are raised to assemble ourselves like resumes. Highlight this skill, minimize that flaw, keep the voice steady, smile in the pause. We become curators of our own cages. And yes, there is power in being seen. But there is also a quiet violence in being seen wrong — reduced to the version of you that fits inside someone else’s frame. Inside that room, I wrote poems that made
And for the first time in years, I recognized my own voice. It was hoarse. It was strange. It was magnificent.
