Chapter 45: to breathe is to defy

a journey in my own skinWords: 613

I fight for every breath I take,

in a world that doesn't want me to breathe,

that doesn't want me to live.

Every step outside

feels like a risk—

a game of chance,

where the odds are stacked

against me.

The world tells me I do not belong,

that my existence is a threat.

But still, I fight—

fighting to be seen,

fighting to live,

fighting to be the man

I know I've always been.

I am afraid,

yes,

but I refuse to let fear

be my cage.

Even in the darkest moments,

I know this:

to live,

to breathe,

is my act of resistance,

my proof that I will not be silenced,

no matter how much the world

tries to make me small.