Messanger

Lately, I’ve been feeling like I’ve been written out of my own story, like the last ten years were a long montage of me staring into space while everyone else lived their best lives with quirky music playing in the background. I know, super dramatic, but that’s where I’m at. And then, like a cosmic plot twist, I get this message on Messenger from a girl—no, wait—a woman now (how dare time?). She sends me a photo and this sweet, rambling note about how I was “the best director ever” and how some of her favorite childhood memories were performing in my plays and hanging out with me, Heidi, and Nicolette. I mean, come on, who writes stuff like that without realizing they’ve just shattered someone’s emotional wall?

And then she tells me she’s taking her daughter—yes, her actual, real-life child—to see The Nutcracker, saying she hopes it inspires her even half as much as I inspired her back in the day. Cue me ugly crying into my coffee. I mean, on one hand, it’s this beautiful reminder that maybe I didn’t waste those years completely. But on the other, it’s like, “Great, I was someone’s life-changing mentor a decade ago. What have I done since? Still, it’s nice to know I left a little sparkle somewhere, even if my own glitter feels a little dull right now.

#theater #musicals #toxicfamily #toxicpeople #narcissism #gaslighting #mentalhealth #toxic #boundaries #abuse #survivor #healing #dysfunctionalfamily #depression #manipulation #bipolar #life #sucks