Every once in a while, a writing piece lands in our inbox that doesn’t just ask to be read, it demands to be felt. This is one of those pieces.
“What Do You Do Now?” isn’t gentle reading, but it is a reckoning. A mirror held to the life choices we’d rather forget, or blame others for. The masks we’ve all worn too long, and the ache beneath the noise of performance, and distraction.
Written with vulnerability and clarity, this piece speaks to anyone who’s ever found themselves at the end of the line, not knowing what to do next, only knowing that something must change, it demands honesty, even if uncomfortable.
It doesn’t offer easy answers, but it does offer an invitation.
The rest is up to you.
What do you do when the guilt finally hits?
When the weight of every lie, every choice, every moment you looked yourself in the mirror and avoided your own eyes… finally comes rushing to the surface?
What do you do when you’ve already tried to outrun it?
When you’ve tried to date it away,
sleeping with whoever would give you the time of day,
numbing yourself in new bodies just to avoid your own reflection.
When you’ve tried to work it away,
flashing highlight reels of success,
claiming to be “thriving” in business—
while secretly working multiple jobs just to make it month to month.
When you’ve tried to control it away,
weaponizing systems to destroy people you once said you loved,
turning your children into leverage,
dragging your ex into courtrooms over and over
—until even the system started to turn on you.
When you’ve burned bridges,
abandoned the real ones who knew you—
the ones who loved you before the mask—
and replaced them with people who only know the lie you’re still trying to sell.
You told yourself you had the upper hand.
You thought you were playing them.
But the truth is—they were playing you.
And now?
You’re left sitting in the wreckage you created.
And you’re still unhappy.
You’re still empty.
You’re still looking for someone to blame.
But nobody’s listening anymore.
So… what do you do now?
Because there is something you can do.
You could keep lying.
Keep spinning the story.
Keep playing the same tired role you’ve already outgrown.
Or…
You could stop.
You could let the mask fall.
You could sit in the wreckage—not as a victim, but as the architect of it all.
And you could choose to rebuild.
Not for them.
Not to prove anything.
Not to “win.”
But for you.
You could face the reality that no one’s coming to save you.
And no one’s responsible for fixing it but you.
Will that be easy?
No.
You’ll have to face what you did.
You’ll have to mourn what you lost.
You’ll have to stop running from your reflection.
But if you can do that?
If you can make it through the breaking…
You might just meet the person you’ve been searching for all along.
Not in someone else’s arms.
Not in someone else’s applause.
Not in someone else’s approval.
But in you.
And that’s when the real life begins.
Not the one you created to impress.
Not the one you faked to survive.
Not the one you built on fear.
But the one you can finally live—
free, honest, whole.
So I’ll ask again…
What do you do now?
You choose.
And when you do…
May you finally remember—
you’ve always been worthy.
You were just waiting to believe it.
With gratitude to the writer Silo Rhodes for lending your voice to the silence so many carry. Smiley Blue is honored to hold your words.
