꒰ ᧔ෆ᧓ ꒱ three people, one lesson: don’t let anyone steal you!

high school sucked. like, really.

there’s *M — my teenage heart wanted him so badly, but the adult me?

NO.

i see it now. he took advantage of the intimacy i trusted him with.

i loved him once, sure, but now i’m firm, cooler, not letting anyone use me like that. punching him wasn’t the answer, but it was like… freeing. like telling him, “no more.” i had to reclaim that part of myself.

then there’s my (past) journalism adviser.

she meant well, maybe, but she didn’t get me. she assumed i liked pop stars — seriously, she asked if i liked selena gomez when i literally wrote an article about heavy metal.

she gave advice i didn’t want — “be more vulnerable” — like my feelings for M were just puppy love. she didn’t see my panic, my boundaries. that assembly, the one with all the people and the bell ringing, my claustrophobia went wild, i cried in the library, screamed at home… and she just didn’t see it. she didn’t know, and honestly, i didn’t tell her. i just pushed her away. no hugs. no ice cream. a solid year of “i don’t want to talk to you right now.” and i don’t regret it.

and then, the pick-me bully. this girl thrived on drama. she stalked ME online, asked personal questions, tried to shame me, tried to manipulate everyone. she kicked me, tried to trip me, stared daggers like i did something wrong for existing. and i just… stared back. said what i needed. didn’t shrink. didn’t let her get my energy. learned quickly: people like her only get power if you let them. they’re not worth it.

i saw the games.

i didn’t play.

my boundaries became iron.

all three?

they taught me something.

that i push away to protect myself. that i withdraw when people assume too much about me. that i can be cold, detached, but still care about the right things. maybe it’s autism, maybe it’s just self-preservation, but my instincts are loud. they scream: protect your peace. don’t let anyone manipulate you. and i listen.

so yeah. i pushed away, snapped, said no, stopped hugging, screamed into the mirror, and walked away from bad energy. it’s not about being mean. it’s about survival, about reclaiming autonomy, about making sure no one — not a boy, not a teacher, not a bully — takes my sense of self from me.