Rejection, Resilience, and the Quiet Strength of Becoming

There is in this world no such force as a man determined to rise. The human soul cannot be permanently chained. –W.E.B. DuBois

There is a silence that follows many moments of courage. You craft something sacred. You offer your truth with care. You share work born of years—sometimes decades—of reflection, refinement, and sacrifice. And then, nothing. thunderous silence.

No applause. No embrace. Sometimes, not even acknowledgment.

But the absence of response is not always a verdict…