SERIES 5: The Loneliness They Don’t See
#TheUnseenStruggle
They say I’m never alone.
Because I’m always needed.
But being needed isn’t the same as being known.
And being around people doesn’t mean i feel seen.
I laugh with them.
Support them.
Fix what’s broken.
Be the cheerleader, the big sister, the example.
But deep down?
There’s an ache.
A silence that echoes after I hang up.
A feeling that I’m there for everyone — but no one knows how to be there for me.
No one sees the emptiness sitting beside me
I'm never really off duty
Even in Joy, I'm calculating needs
Even in silence, I'm carry thoughts for everyone else.
I long for a safe space where I don't have to be wise,
Or perfect.
A person who doesn’t need me to be useful first.
Someone who sees me not for what I do,
but for who I am.
Sometimes I just want to talk not solve.
I want to be held not hold with expectations
I want to be heard not managed.
But I don’t know how to ask.
Because every time I try, it feels like I’m being dramatic.
So I go quiet again.
Loneliness, for a first daughter,
isn’t being alone in a room.
It’s being surrounded by people and still feeling like no one sees your soul.
I give, but I’m empty.
I speak, but I’m misunderstood.
I cry, but only when no one’s watching.
And when I fall apart, I do it privately — so I don’t disappoint anyone.
But even the strong get lonely.
Even the capable crave comfort.
Even the first daughter wants someone to say,
“I see you. Let me carry you for once.”
From ADA — The First Daughter
#AnticipateADAbook
#ADAstrugglesSeries
#TheUnseenStrugglesOfFirstDaughters
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