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No Parachute: What It’s Like to Be Born Without a Safety Net

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No Parachute: What It’s Like to Be Born Without a Safety Net
By A.L. Childers

This blog is for those of us who were born without a parachute.

For the ones who didn’t get “rescued” when life turned to hell.
Who didn’t get second chances from forgiving parents, financial bailouts from spouses, or even emotional validation from someone who gave a damn.

We didn’t inherit a support system.
We inherited survival.

When You’re Your Own Emergency Contact

There are people out there who cannot fathom making every decision without backup.
They’ve always had someone to fall back on—mom, dad, a partner, a trust fund, or even a best friend who shows up before they even say “I need you.”

But then, there are people like us.

We are the emergency contact.
We are the fallback plan.
We are the late-night problem solver, the crisis negotiator, the emotional anchor.

Even when we’re breaking, we don’t get to fall apart.

Advice from the Privileged Feels Like a Slap in the Face

“Just take a break.”
“Ask for help.”
“Start over.”

Start over… with what? With who?
When no one is waiting to catch you, every step is a calculation:
How much will this cost me—emotionally, financially, mentally?

We don’t get to “burn bridges” when we’re already stranded.
We don’t get to “cut people off” when no one was ever really there.

The world loves giving advice to people they’ll never have to live as.

The Weight of a Loveless Life Isn’t Laziness. It’s Logistics.

I’m stuck in a marriage with a man who doesn’t care.
He doesn’t ask about my day. He doesn’t see me. He doesn’t love me in the way I needed someone to love me.

And before anyone dares say, “Then why don’t you leave?”—let me stop you there.
It’s not fear that keeps women like me in place.
It’s the brutal arithmetic of life.

Bills. Kids. Health.
Who helps when you walk away?
When there’s no mother to stay with, no brother to borrow from, no family with a spare bedroom or a spare dollar—you do the math differently.

For the Ones Who Have Always Had to Figure It Out Alone

If you’ve ever sat in silence because you had no one to call…
If you’ve ever swallowed your pain because your sadness made others uncomfortable…
If you’ve ever been surrounded by people but still completely unsupported…
Then you know what it means to be born without a parachute.

You weren’t raised with emotional stability.
You weren’t taught that someone would come for you.
You were taught to endure.

And you’ve done that. Day after day.

Resources for Those Who Have Only Themselves

You’re not alone in your loneliness. Here are some real support tools—judgment-free, low-cost, and community-based:

Closing Words: We Are Not Broken—We Were Just Never Carried

People like us don’t walk around with safety nets.
We walk tightropes—every single day.
But we walk them anyway.
That’s not weakness. That’s grit.

So if no one told you lately:
You are doing the damn thing.
Without applause. Without help.
And you deserve respect for surviving what others were rescued from.

About the Author
A.L. Childers writes for the overlooked, the unheard, and the underestimated. As a woman who has spent her life without a support system, she understands the silent strength it takes to keep showing up when no one’s there to catch you. Find more of her words at TheHypothyroidismChick.com, where truth and tenderness meet.