The constantly being beaten down so much makes you begin to feel that youre wrong. Not that you did wrong, but you were wrong. It makes you so angry at your abuser, the one that youre too afraid to confront, so you confront the easiest target. Those you can. Until your heart gets tired. No one ever, up until that point, talked to us, asked us what our dreams were, asked us how we were feeling. It was on us to figure it out. There is an emotional abandonment that comes with poverty and being Black. The weight of generational trauma and having to fight for your basic needs doesnt leave room for anything else. You just believe youre the leftovers.

Finding Me by Viola Davis