The Weight and Power of Being Different

I have always been the odd one out.

In my family.

Among my friends.

In the spaces where I tried to belong.

Being different is never easy. It leaves you exposed. Misunderstood. Talked about. Judged. Sometimes even rejected.

And it hurts.

Because no matter how strong you try to be, words leave marks.

Silence creates emptiness.

The absence of support makes you question your worth.

Few have stood beside me and said, “I believe in you.”

Over time, the journey became lonelier.

The world seemed to prefer that I fit into something smaller and safer.

But I learned to push forward anyway. To live the life that feels true to me, not the one others decided for me. To embrace what sets me apart, even when it felt heavy.

Because in time, difference became strength. It built resilience. It shaped courage. It created a path that may not be crowded but is fully mine.

Yes, being different has cost me.

But it also gave me freedom.

The freedom to be exactly who I am.

And that is worth everything.