I have finally figured out why I hate it when I am at family gatherings. It’s not that I don’t feel loved, because I do! I feel very loved…but I don’t feel relevant. Whenever I try to contribute an opinion or just a comment, I either get talked over, or dismissed entirely. I am twenty-nine years old, and my 13 year old nephew gets more respect than me. And my mom, after every single one of the gatherings, always asks, “Why were you so quiet? Are you okay?” No. I am not okay. Because every time I f****** said a single f****** word, I was DISMISSED. I am. Sick. And tired. Of it. But when I do talk to her about it, she… wait for it… dismisses it. Says it’s not that big a deal. Yeah, it kinda is. My brother’s an architect with a wife and two kids, my sister’s an amazing mother of four and finished two novels…and then there’s me. The one who’s always dismissed. I’m just done.
