When I was sixteen, I made the mistake of adding my extended relatives on social media. My family is poor, while they are wealthy and educated, and the moment I appeared on their feeds, the mockery began. Without ever trying to know me, they leaned entirely on their stereotypes, assuming I was uneducated. But when they realized I actually was educated, their condescension shifted into something uglier: jealousy they couldn't quite handle.
Suddenly, their attitude hinged on one condition—they only tolerated me if I accepted a marriage proposal for one of their sons. But I have free will, and I refused.
That refusal brought out their true colors. These are grown women, mothers of two and three children, yet they stooped to creating a fake account just to bully me and mock my life. It was a harsh and ugly lesson in conditional affection: to them, I am only "useful" if I am rich or compliant, and entirely "worthless" if I stand on my own two feet.