You have to be twice as good to get half as far
You have to work twice as hard, prove twice as much, be twice as good just to get half as far as others who face none of the barriers you do. The unfairness of it is exhausting and enraging — the higher bars, the slower advancement, the constant proving — and you are worn down by running a race rigged against you while others stroll the easy track.
I had to be the most extraordinary person of my age merely to be permitted to learn, so I know this exact injustice in my bones. The unfairness is real; name it plainly — you are not slower because you are less capable, you are running a longer course with more obstacles, and to compare your progress to those on the clear track is a false standard, so do not let anyone tell you the field is level or your harder road is your own inadequacy. The excellence forced on you is also a real strength — because you had to be twice as good, you have become genuinely formidable, and while this does not justify the injustice, the capability it forged is now truly yours, tempered by the harder fire. And do not let the injustice consume the whole of your life — refuse to let the fight become all of who you are, for you are more than your battle, with delights to claim and a self beyond it. Win where you can, and live besides. Where do you feel the double standard most?
What changes unlock by starting
- You name the double standard as real, not your failing
- You claim the genuine strength it forged in you
- You measure by a true standard, not the easy track's
- You refuse to let the fight consume your whole life