Oh, sacrifices? You want to talk about sacrifices?

I’ve bartered sleep like a desperate trader at a collapsing market: swapped it for deadlines, for dreams, for defiance. I’ve sat in rooms where my silence was safer than the truth but still chose to speak. Lost friends over convictions. Lost time over causes. Lost faith in systems that promised progress and delivered slogans. I’ve watched my bank account bleed just so a story could be told, or a protest banner could wave. I’ve sacrificed comfort, applause, and sometimes, even sanity, just to say what needed saying when everyone else swallowed their tongues.

I gave up the easy life the day I realized “normal” is often just another word for numb. So yes, I’ve made sacrifices. But I wear them like medals from a war only the conscious remember. Because if I didn’t, I’d be one of them. Numb. Polished. Peaceful. Powerless.

And I’m not here to live quietly.