If we’re going to break generational patterns

 if we’re going to break generational patterns

we have to stop shrinking ourselves
just to keep the people who hurt us comfortable

because breaking cycles doesn’t look like peace at first

it looks like saying no
when you used to say yes
it looks like distance
where there used to be access
it looks like being misunderstood
by the very people who taught you to stay small

and that part?
that part is hard

because you still love them
you still wish it could be different
you still hope one day they’ll understand

but healing doesn’t come from being accepted
by the people who normalized what hurt you

it comes from choosing differently
even when it’s uncomfortable
even when it’s lonely
even when it feels like you’re the only one doing it

and one day, your child won’t have to unlearn
what you had to survive

and that’s how it changes