So I was having a sort of argument with this friend on messenger. She was sharing her thoughts and I was sharing my experience—or so I thought.

She took it differently and told me to shut my trap and not give her unsolicited advice. I said I wasn’t giving any; I was just sharing that after all the bullshit I’ve been through, including my struggle with my daughter and crap at work, I finally found my peace. I said I was explaining to her why she didn’t understand me that time, why I didn’t want to date, and just retreated to where I am now. I told her what I was sharing with her is the edited version because I didn’t want to bother her with my pain because I can see in her IG stories, what she is posting there shows how much she is struggling. “For me to say that I am at peace is like exhaling after all these,” I told her.

I wanted to append, not everything is about you—reminiscent of what I told her when we were 12 years old.

Some things never change.