Unmasking Myself: Reclaiming the Loud, Weird Kid I Buried

Growing up, I wasn’t the kind of 'different' people celebrated—I was the kind of 'weird' they wanted to tone down. Called 'too loud,' 'too much,' or 'a white girl' for simply being myself, I spent years hiding under layers of masks to fit into a world that demanded I shrink. On my 26th birthday, I finally started peeling back those layers, finding the human underneath, and reclaiming the joy of being unapologetically me. This is my story of self-discovery, anger, and ultimate liberation.