𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐥

Has it ever happened to anyone that you're really excited about something, but everyone around you doesn't seem to care that much?

I was just like everyone else—or maybe that's what I wanted to be. One ping after another. Yeah, I was noticed. It was so addictive being noticed by people I never met and probably never would. But who cares? I always told myself. At least I wasn't all alone.

Days started merging into one. I checked my phone first thing in the morning. No notifications; my heart sank. I didn't know why it affected me this much. It was just notifications, but to me, it felt like proof of not being remembered. If I didn’t get notifications, I’d create them. Reach out, talk, share, laugh, and go to bed feeling hollow again.

What was missing? I had friends—people who noticed me, whose notifications lit me up. I didn’t know the answer, at least not at the time. Maybe what was missing was everything that wasn’t on the screen.