I’ve carried a dark secret since I was a little girl, a shadow that whispers of an escape I’ve always considered. Suicide. It sounds heavy, I know, but for as long as I can remember, it’s been a constant, quiet hum in the background of my life. It’s not depression, at least I don’t think so; it’s a deep, festering self-loathing, meticulously cultivated by the very people who were supposed to nurture me. My parents. They’re the quintessential Indian parents, you see. For them, life had only one template: “You MUST become a doctor.” And “grades are everything, beta.”
I’ve Carried a Secret Burden Since Childhood: Will I Ever Break Free?
Published Anonymously
Submitted by a real person and published with their consent. Identity is never revealed.