Somewhere along the way, “I’m fine” became the safest lie ever told. Not because I (or any of us) wanted to lie, but because people stopped listening before our mouths even opened to explain... I watch it happen around me all the time. In houses where families pass each other like distant satellites, orbiting the same roof, barely making contact. In the awkward silences between couples at the dinner table… The way people fill every gap with noise so they don’t have to feel how empty they have truly become on the inside.

It is nothing short of insane how easy it has become to “perform” our way through life. The cheerful greetings and those “hugs” (omg I hate those hugs that mean absolutely less than nothing, other than me feeling uncomfortable) The “Hope you’re well!” messages that nobody ever answers honestly. The carefully chosen photos that make everything seem whole… Meanwhile, back at the ranch everything underneath is falling apart like cheap glue in summer heat.

We live in a world that demands we always “be better”. Achieve more. Smile wider. Post something inspiring. Be grateful, even if you’re bleeding from the inside out. And “well FAAARK” if you speak the actual truth that sometimes you're just managing nothing more than surviving… that sometimes the bravest thing you did for the day was get out of bed and brush your fncking teeth. There is a heaviness that breeds within pretending, and I think most people are drowning in it without even realising they are holding their breath. “Say Cheese”.

People say we must “stay positive”, like it’s a commandment now. But what happens when that positivity starts to feel like poison? When it’s not lifting you, but silencing you? When it becomes another mask you feel like you are forced to wear because being completely transparent has become too uncomfortable for others to witness? Nobody talks about that.

Nobody talks about what it does to a person to always feel like their pain is too loud and their truth too inconvenient even for those who apparently “care the most”. And you know what it leads to? Emptiness masquerading as strength. People walking around hollowed out, feeding others with what little fragments they have left… because they think being strong means hiding the truth and keeping things going, no matter what.

Real strength, in my opinion, is not quiet. It is not tidy and it definitely doesn’t smile on cue. Sometimes it is just about saying “I am not okay.” without feeling the need to apologise for that.. Simply standing in that, barefoot and authentic.

Sometimes it’s admitting that you’re tired of trying so hard to be what everyone else needs. That you’re tired of talking when no one is really listening. That you're tired of showing up as a version of yourself that no longer feels like home.

I think the most radical thing we can do these days is tell the truth. Not the polished version. Not the one dipped in glitter and made palatable for strangers. The real one. The kind that shakes the bones. The kind that clears the air like a thunderstorm over dry earth.

We’ve got to stop pretending we’re fine just because the world doesn’t know what to do with our not-fineness. We've got to stop teaching ourselves that silence is safer than sincerity!!!! No matter how perfect your life looks from the outside, if your heart is gasping for air and your soul’s been locked in a cupboard for years, it will catch up to you!!! - Mark my words!

So maybe, just maybe…today is the day you drop the act!

Even if it’s just for a moment. Even if it’s just with one person. Even if it’s only in the mirror. Tell the fncking truth!!! The raw, quiet, uncomfortable, holy truth. You owe that to yourself, before you owe anything to the world. And if someone asks you how you are, and you don’t know how to answer… start there. That’s real!!!

I hope you read this again when the world feels loud and your voice feels small. Let it settle into the places you've been pretending don't hurt. And when you are ready, speak! Not because you're expected to… Not because you owe anyone a lesson in resilience. But because your truth deserves to be heard, even if it takes everything you've got within you. If we are not real with each other… what is the fncking point?