"Patience is like the discreet sister of courage." ? Aristotle
Do you have ADHD? I do.
Do you have a mother? I do, too.
Is your mother your biological mother, or a stepmother? Mine is a stepmother.
Even if she is your biological mother, have you ever felt as if she were a stepmother? That nagging sensation that "a mother shouldn't be like this." It is said that in the original versions of Snow White, Cinderella, and Kongjwi and Patjwi, the stepmothers were actually biological mothers.
This writing is an in-depth contemplation of the meaning behind a lifelong ordeal: how a mother with a personality disorder treated a brilliant child?one who has ADHD, who is somewhat restless, yet possesses a cognitive system unlike any other.
This is a record for myself and for the world, documenting how a "stepmother" exploited and preyed upon a child whose talents and potential far exceeded her own, and how she tried to drag that child down to her level. It is a story of how a vulnerable child, with no shield to hide behind, managed to save their life from ruin through "the discreet courage of patience" amidst relentless bullying and domestic violence.
Others carelessly say to me, "You should have run away sooner." Where was I supposed to go at such a young age, with absolutely no one to back me up? I was a small warrior, laboring through the storm to complete the tasks of life, all while desperately protecting the lamp of my "pure and warm soul" so that its light would never go out.
The path I have walked has been a manifestation of courage?the most cautious yet monumental form of patience. I wrote this to reclaim the right to interpret my own life, ensuring that no one else can ever define it carelessly again. And now, I share it with you. For all the children in this world who are being mistreated without the presence of a "good mother."
