I Smiled Through Every Single One of Those Meetings

For years I sat in rooms where decisions were made about me, without me. I smiled when I disagreed. I nodded when I wanted to push back. I dressed the part, spoke the language, played the game — because that’s what you do when you need the paycheck and you haven’t yet found your way to something better. The day I stopped smiling on command was the day I started finding my way back to myself.