The Hymn of a Forgotten Soul

They do not see me, only numbers, a mind wrapped in accolades, a vessel of knowledge, but never a soul. What I do beyond the classroom is dust in the wind, unnoticed, unworthy, a shadow cast by my own intellect. My mind, a magnet for praise, a curse to myself. neglect my suffering, worship my GPA. Scorn my exhaustion, demand I excel. Work. Work. Work. Work. Run faster, push harder, outshine the one behind, outdo the one ahead. Break the cycle. Be first. Full ride, perfect score, rewrite the past in brighter ink. Don’t be her. Be better. Don’t compare. But compare. Lead, but follow. Stand out, but fit in. A never-ending tug-of-war, and when the rope snaps, I stand alone. Dangling between purpose and place, the misplaced piece in a puzzle that never had a space for me. In a world of patterns, I am the outlier, the inconsistency, the contradiction wrapped in expectation. My mind—a battlefield, truth and acceptance at war, the lines blurred, the victor unknown. All I know is that each battle leaves me emptier than the last.