In the hallway noise, when the laughter starts, when the whispers move like they know my heart. I keep walking on, though it shakes my feet. There’s a quiet voice underneath the heat. It says breathe in slow, let the moment pass. They don’t know my story, they don’t know my past. You don’t break me. You don’t break me. I’m still standing, I’m still standing. When the screen lights up, and the comments sting, when the silence feels like it means something. And I don’t strike it back, I don’t feed the flame. I hold something deeper. They can’t take my name. It says stay right here, let the storm roll through. They don’t get to decide what is true of you. You don’t break me. You don’t break me. I’m still standing, I’m still standing. I am more than the noise, more than the stare, more than the weight they try to share. I am here. I am whole. I am stronger than I know. Still here breathing, still here breathing, still standing now, still standing now.