This Is Mine Now

I wouldn’t trade lives with a soul. This one’s mine. I earned every inch of it the hard way. Not through luck. Not through handshakes or mentors or some neat little roadmap. I clawed it together out of mistakes, misfires, and moments no one saw but me. And now that it works, now that I can breathe, I don’t owe anyone the clean version. It cost more than anyone warned me. Not in money or…