Have you watched a fire slowly burn out, but in a quiet, suffocating way, as if the world keeps throwing damp cloths over it. You were once full of light, passion, and individuality, but over time, society molds you, reshapes you, until you barely recognize yourself. The more you try to hold onto that spark, the more it slips through your fingers, like embers fading into the dark cold air. People don't see you. They see what they want to see-the surface, the shell, the version of you that fits their expectations. No matter how much you try to reveal the depth beneath, your voice becomes softer, your words fading into the background like echoes in an empty room. They carry less weight, less meaning, until it feels like speaking is just another futile act. You are screaming into a storm, yet the world only hears a whisper, if it hears you at all. At some point, you begin to wonder if it's easier to just blend in, to follow the script everyone else seems to be reading from. You trace the lines, act the part, move through life as if on a stage where the audience only applauds what is familiar. Following the norm is like painting yourself in muted colors-safe, unnoticed, accepted. But deep down, beneath the layers of expectations and silence, the real you still lingers, waiting to be seen, waiting to break free. ~hena. Expressive abstract self portrait oil painting 2025 - @hena.yng