June 17, 2017
I sit on the edge of my bed, my heart pounding in my chest, as I scribble these words in the dim light of my bedroom. Tomorrow, I will leave everything behind. Tomorrow, I will walk away from the life I've known, the family that doesn't understand me, the expectations that suffocate me. At sixteen, I should be dreaming of the future, but all I can think about is escaping the confines of this small town, this stifling house where every corner echoes with the weight of unspoken words and broken dreams.
Mom and Dad mean well, I know they do. But they don't see me. They see the daughter they want me to be – obedient, dutiful, content with the life they've mapped out for me. They don't see the fire that burns within me, the longing for something more, something that's mine and mine alone. They don't see the dreams I harbor in the depths of my soul, dreams that whisper of far-off lands and endless possibilities.
Tomorrow, I will pack a bag with the few belongings that truly belong to me – a worn-out journal, a tattered copy of my favorite book, a necklace that once belonged to Grandma – and I will walk out that door without looking back. I don't know where I'm going or what lies ahead, but I know one thing for certain: I can't stay here any longer. I can't let fear and doubt hold me back from chasing the life I want, the life I deserve.
So tomorrow, I will run. I will run until my legs ache and my lungs burn, until I find a place where I can breathe freely, where I can be myself without apology. Tomorrow, I will leave this town behind and forge my own path, one step at a time, one heartbeat at a time.
Tomorrow, I will be free.