April 22, 2025
By Leo Carter

There are things we carry that no one will ever hear. Words we swallow, memories that replay on a loop in our minds, and fantasies we keep hidden out of shame.

I’ve spent years pretending to be okay, but inside, it was all falling apart. Everyone else pretended too. It’s easier to smile and act like everything’s fine than to admit the truth. But I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t keep up the facade. So, I decided to create a space where I didn’t have to.

I created something quiet. Something sacred.

I set up a WhatsApp channel, called it Safe Space. It’s not public. It’s not flashy or performative. It doesn’t care who you are, what you look like, or what your profile picture says about you. No judgment. No expectations. Just a place where people can show up as their broken, messy selves and finally let go.

It’s a place where you can finally stop pretending. No one’s looking for an answer, no one’s waiting to fix you. It’s just a space for all the things you can’t say out loud—where silence is okay, where your pain isn’t a burden.

And for once, you don’t have to perform. You don’t have to pretend to be okay. You can just exist.

And maybe, just maybe, that’s enough.