Soft but NOT sorry

I used to say sorry a lot.
Sorry for overthinking, sorry for being emotional, sorry for caring too much.
Sorry for existing in a way that didn't make sense to people who never really tried to understand me.

I used to shrink myself just to make everyone comfortable.
I'd hide my softness, mask my sensitivity, and pretend like I didn't feel everything too deeply.
Because in this generation, it's so easy to be judged for caring -
like softness automatically means weakness.

But I'm done.
I'm done apologizing for being me.
I'm done explaining my peace, my silence, my distance.
Not everything needs to be justified - some things are just for me now.

I used to crave attention.
Now I crave peace.
I used to beg people to stay.
Now I let them leave - quietly, gracefully, without begging.

It took me so long to realize that being soft doesn't mean being stupid.
Being kind doesn't mean being naïve.
And choosing myself doesn't mean I stopped caring - it just means I finally learned who deserves my energy.

I'm still that girl who loves deeply,
who cries over little things,
who overthinks sometimes -
but I don't see those things as flaws anymore.
They're parts of me that make me human.
They make me Triash Yvaine Cortez.

Now, when people ask me what changed,
I just smile and say,

> "Nothing really. I just stopped trying to be enough for people who never saw my worth."

I'm not heartless.
I'm just healed.
And maybe that's what this whole story is about -
learning how to love yourself loud enough that silence doesn't feel lonely anymore.

Because at the end of the day,
I'm soft...
but I'm not sorry. 💋