okay so like. this is gonna sound SO STUPID. and EMBARASING but i have to get it out. like. anyone else ever feel like they’re just… disappearing? even when you’re right there? i had this family thing last week, like a cookout at my aunt’s house. and it’s always a scene you know? uncles yelling about sports, little cousins running around sticky with juice, my grandma just kinda… watching everything. so i’m there, and my grandpa is there too, he’s like 70, real old school, used to be like a big deal executive or something. whatever that means. and he was trying to like… offer advice? to everyone? about like, the economy or something. how to like, save money or whatever. and NO ONE was listening. not even a little bit. and like, i know he’s old and stuff, and kinda out of touch probably. but he was actually TRYING. like, he was talking, kinda loud even, and moving his hands, trying to make eye contact. and my older cousins were just like. glued to their phones. scrolling. laughing at TikToks probably. my aunt was on hers too, sending emails or something. literally NO ONE looked up. and i was just watching it, like a train wreck. and i felt… REALLY bad for him? like, he was just there, in the middle of everything, talking to air. and it felt so… quiet, even with all the noise. like he was invisible. and i couldn’t even look at him after a bit cause it was making me feel so weird. and then the REALLY messed up part is, like, i totally get it now. i totally get why they didn’t look up. because honestly? i kinda felt like him all the time. like when i’m trying to tell my friends about a job i picked up, washing cars for like twenty bucks, or how i’m trying to make rent and it’s SO TIGHT this month cause the apps were slow. and they’re just like, “oh cool, yeah” and then back to talking about what they saw on Insta. or when i try to say something in class and no one even hears it, or they just kinda look through me. like i’m there but i’m not. am i the only one who feels this? like you’re trying to say something important and it just… bounces off everyone? and then you just stop trying. cause what’s the point. it just makes you feel worse. way worse. it just feels… empty.</blockquote>