the self is not so

Adam was no stranger to this ever-expanding hole buried in his chest. It had cropped up in different periods of his life; the longest had eclipsed a good majority of his twenties. At first, he pretended he could fill it, that it was only temporary. He made himself believe he could fix it if he only dated the right girl, found the right job, took the perfect photograph. But eventually he gave in to it. He let it consume him until all he knew was wake up, waste time, eat (if he could afford it), and watch life pass him by. Adam is struggling after the trap, but he's fine. He's been through this before.