“You handled it so well.”
No, I didn’t. I lost myself. I went insane. It traumatized me. I had to shove my muffled screams on a pillow every night. I had to act like I’m not supposed to be thrown on a mental asylum. I had to force myself to sleep just so I could mute the terrifying thoughts on my head. Even then, it still haunts me in my sleep. I had to join countless organizations and drown myself in overwhelming academic workloads just to keep the noise around me all so I could escape the deafening silence in my head. So no, I didn’t handle it. I’m just a master of weaving colored threads on the tapestry of veracity.