y̶o̶u̶ ̶d̶o̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶c̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶s̶o̶ ̶w̶h̶y̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶i̶?̶

Millennial

"i--"

"shush. children are to be seen and not heard."

i shut my mouth
and
resign from the conversation

a few minutes later
you ask
"mingie, why
don't you talk
with us?"

i force a smile
and shake my
head

you shrug

you mumble something
about kids these days
being too
privileged
immature
ignorant
and uneducated

you never notice
how dull my eyes are
how my smile is never real
how i am always hiding things

you never
notice my lack of
emotion

you only notice how
entitled
narcissistic
and tough to manage
i am

i get it

i'm just a child

something to be
seen and
not heard

right?