Unappreciated all my life,
I've felt like a shadow behind the others—
Invisible to everyone around me.

Never appreciated for anything I ever did,
Even good performances were never valued.
"You were okay, but I expected more."

It never stops, does it?
Felt like a disappointment,
Never allowed to be just "okay."

Why is it you always chip at me?
Dissect all my victories,
Take out the shard of failure
And put it on display.

Shatter my heart in two.
Once in a while, I crave to hear,
"Good job, well done. I’m proud of you."

But all you do is point out what I did wrong,
Show me all my tiny mistakes,
Make me think I'm a fool.

Now that the graph is falling,
I don’t know what I feel—
It’s shame, guilt, disgust at myself,
For I’ve failed to hit bullseye
At the very first try.

I’m ashamed to be the one who’s trying,
Ashamed to be struggling,
Ashamed of trying to cope.

I’m disgusted at myself for being just human,
For I’ve been brainwashed to think
I should’ve been perfect at first try.

Whatever the case,
I hope that someday I shed those layers
And let myself be human,
To stop craving
Appreciation from others...