I was thinking about the pain from having my bag on my shoulder all the time is kinda like the pain of having a crush for a long time. You don't notice it until it starts to go away, and then it's gone. But then you have to put the bag back on your shoulder the next day. And the next. And it's a cruel cycle of immunity and pain until one day you take it off for good. And you realize the pain is a part of you. And that the feelings are like a bullet in your shoulder that's been healed over so many times that removing it will be no easy task. And could cause more damage than leaving it be would. You try and try to pull it out, but the pain is too much to handle. If you're lucky, it will slide out on it's own. But even if it does, it leaves a sort of hole behind. A hole that can't be filled by another bullet. And when you look at that person, you hear the echoes of that pain on your mind. And you feel those feelings you thought would never again be connected to them. But the feelings won't go away completely. Not ever. And then another bullet. Maybe you have time to build up your armor. Maybe you don't. And throughout your life, your shoulders become so riddled with holes that they can never be healed. And then, if you're lucky, you meet someone who loves you. And they help you recover from all of that pain. They help you heal. But maybe you don't. Or maybe you have to wait. And so you learn to deal with it. And you shove that pain, those feelings, those bullet wounds, into the back of your mind and you hide them. And you wait for the next one to come. -Sophia