Late one night, I watched the movie Fantastic Four. It’s slow, boring, and irritating, but one thing manages to stick with me. In this superhero movie, one the main characters, Sue Storm, has the power to turn invisible. That is, she can change her outer appearance so that people can see through her like she is thin air.

It got me to realize that I have a superpower of my own, invisibility. But not the cool version where I can instantly camouflage with my surroundings, but rather that I’m ignored by everybody I’m with.

When I’m walking with friends, I’m the one who has to fall behind so everybody can stay on the curb. If I am within the group, I’m the one who doesn’t join the conversation since they’re talking about anime, video games or other things I couldn’t care less about. And when we’re playing a game of badminton, I’m the player who has to sit out so the teams can be even numbers. Sometimes, I’m not even invited to social events, or if I am, I’m the one who leaves early because I feel left out. Or perhaps, I should say invisible.

People ignore me because I’m so unassuming and shy; they don’t think I have anything to offer. In reality, I have a lot to say, but I can’t relate to anything my friends talk about, so I choose to stay silent. When I attempt to relate to them, I can barely muster enough material to carry on a conversation. If I try to talk about things I’m interested in, such as movies, politics, or animals, my friends ignore me. I don’t know why because I speak as loudly as I can, but they don’t pay any attention to what I say. An entire discussion could carry out among my friends without them hearing what I am saying. Sometimes, it feels like I’m talking to myself or they have completely forgotten about my existence.

The worst part about it is that they know I’m too nice to abandon them, so they keep inviting me to events. But when I get to the events, I’m immediately forgotten and pushed to the side, literally and figuratively. I suppose I could stand up for myself for once, but my “invisibility” has become so detrimental to my self-esteem I have started to believe that I am actually invisible. My friends have pushed me aside so much that I’ve started to walk behind them by default. People talk over me so much that when I do speak for once, I feel like I’m talking too much. My power to be overlooked constantly has taken away my voice and my self-worth, and for once I wish someone would notice the Invisible Girl.