When I Couldn't Speak, My Mind Was Listening

As a child, I didn’t have the words. When they mocked my looks—relatives, classmates, even so-called friends—I stayed quiet. Not because I agreed, but because I didn’t know how to fight back. I didn’t know what to say, how to say it, or even if I was allowed to.

They laughed, pointed, whispered. And I carried those silent wounds for years.

But something else was happening in that silence—my brain was growing. Every cruel word, every sting—they didn’t break me. They sharpened me. While they judged the surface, I was building what they couldn’t see.

Today, I don’t need to ask where their beauty went. Time answers that for me. Because the truth is—looks fade, but your mind? It only gets stronger.

I’ve met these same people again—relatives, ex co-workers, those meany “friends.” And now, it’s not my face that speaks. It’s my work. My intelligence. My strength. The same quiet kid now holds her ground without raising her voice.

So, to anyone who’s been mocked for how you look: let them speak. You don’t need to answer. Let your future speak for you.

Because brains age like wine, and beauty... well, they’ll learn.

They judged my face. I built a future