"I don't understand that phrase," she admits. "The 'if you let yourself' bit. Every time I hear it, I feel like I've been doing something wrong with my life. Is it wrong that I wanted better things for my family? That I put their well being and happiness before my own? Sure, you could point out all the things wrong with me now, but if I had done things slightly differently, I could have had the same end result without ending up so..." Fucked up. Undesirable. Hated. "Flawed."

That frown is becoming a permanent feature on her face, it seems. "I hate feeling like I'm disappointing the world without actually knowing everyone in it."