Created by Rachel Maria Kisellus 🦋

I used to think forgiveness was the high road.

That if I could rise above, I’d prove I was healed.

But forgiveness without apology isn’t grace ~ it’s gaslight in yoga pants.

Devaluing hides in plain sight.

It sounds like “Don’t take it so personally.”

It looks like your aunt smiling while she rewrites history.

It feels like being erased while someone insists you’re family.

I used to chase understanding, thinking maybe if I explained enough, they’d finally see me.

Now I see that explaining is how the cycle stays alive.

When I stop explaining, the system collapses.

This isn’t revenge.

It’s reclamation.

I’m not punishing anyone; I’m refusing to participate in a pattern that feeds on my self-doubt.

I can love from afar.

I can hope she learns.

But I won’t build a bridge she keeps burning.

Forgiveness isn’t owed; it’s earned through repair.

Belief in someone’s capacity to change is noble ~