What They Don’t See

People are quick to judge what they don’t understand.

Quick to believe one side of the story—especially when it’s told by someone who knows how to manipulate the truth just enough to make themselves look like the victim.

What they don’t see is the person on the other side—the one they once called a friend—silently surviving.

The one who stopped showing up the same way, not because she changed, but because life hit so hard she was just trying to stay afloat.

And while she was drowning, people whispered.

They walked away.

They chose silence over support.

Judgment over compassion.

They believed the version told by someone who knew how to twist the narrative—someone who painted her as unstable, dramatic, or crazy, just to cover their own behavior.

But the truth is: sometimes the person you’re defending is the very person causing the damage.

Sometimes the one you think is kind, generous, and “just trying to be a good dad/partner/friend” is the one emotionally destroying someone behind closed doors.

It’s easy to believe the polished version.

It’s harder to ask questions.

Harder to look closer.

Harder to admit you were wrong.

This isn’t about bitterness—it’s about truth.

Because the girl you stopped talking to?

The one you said “changed”?

She wasn’t being dramatic.

She was being abused.

And while you were standing behind her abuser, she was just trying to survive it.

So this is for anyone who’s ever been misunderstood, misrepresented, and walked away from in their most painful season:

You’re not crazy. You’re not too much. You’re not alone.

And you don’t have to explain your truth to people who were never ready to hear it.

-Lindsay-Michele