Confessions of a Woman

By: Anydinh

At 16, I was like every other girl—

dreaming of a prince on a white horse

who would one day come for me.

But that dream,

I kept locked deep in my heart,

afraid my friends would laugh—

laugh at the foolishness of a girl

who hadn’t yet grown up.

At 19,

I first felt what it meant to long for someone.

He wasn’t a prince on a white horse,

not the fantasy of my childhood,

but he was gentle and warm

like spring sunshine—

enough to stir my young heart.

Still, that innocent first love

only dared to admire from afar,

because he was a light I could never reach.

At 21,

I experienced love for the first time.

I thought he would walk with me

down the path of happiness.

But one day, he walked out of my world,

leaving my heart empty.

I kept asking myself:

What did I do wrong?

He left without even a goodbye.

At 23,

I stopped believing in romance.

Reality had slapped me awake.

I realized…

maybe I wasn’t someone who deserved love.

At 28,

he came into my life.

I no longer hoped for love.

But he gave me warmth.

From nothing, we built together—

and when he became successful,

all I got in return was:

“I never loved you.

It was all just your misunderstanding.”

Yeah, maybe I really misunderstood.

I loved the wrong person.

All I received in the end

was a wedding invitation with someone else’s name on it.

At 35,

I closed my heart.

At this age,

I realized there’s nothing worth waiting for anymore.

No one left

was worthy of my sacrifices.

From now on,

I would lock my heart away.

At 40, and in the years to come,

we all grow old.

Health is the most important thing.

Every dream will eventually fade.

Reality is what we must face.

Youth will never come back—

so love yourself.

Don’t be foolish like I once was,

giving everything

to someone who never deserved it…