born to be different.

People are misunderstood. Judgement and accusations are too easily made by poor and ignorant individuals lacking the ability to form proper and accurate opinions about people. People are abused, taken advantage of, and shut down simply because they do not have the courage to stand up for who they are. They do not understand their great potential. Those who are perfectly content and pleased with who they are may love themselves and love others, but because of how they look, how they act, or just because of the fact that they stand out and are different than everybody else might result in the “normal” people pointing fingers and calling them outcasts. Why? I would much rather be known as a genuine and happy individual rather than an insecure girl who judges yet “fits in” for doing so. What if everybody had the confidence to stand out and be who they honestly and genuinely are and show the world who they are becoming? Why is it “uncool” to be different than everybody else? Why isn’t it okay for everybody to be accepted in social terms? Since when did we feel the need to compare ourselves to everyone else to create a false sense that we are either better or worse than them? I am ashamed to be a part of a society who has grown to believe it is acceptable and beneficial to fake who you are and pretend to be someone you aren’t just because everyone else is doing it. It shatters me that people even consider taking their own life because their life wasn’t as good as someone else’s might appear to be. Everyone has the ability and the moral capacity to love who they are. Everyone deserves the right to stand up for the person you see in the mirror and reflect the light to the world that gives you a reason to be here. You were born to make a difference. You were born to be different than anyone else. Everyone who has ever lived has changed the world in some way simply because they were a part of the world. However, the ones who truly change the world and make a big difference are those who aren’t afraid to be who they are and society is no longer afraid to let them be that person and allow them to continue helping those who are still trying to stand out. Regardless of any condition whether it be depression, autism, blindness, anxiety, insecurity, or loneliness, we all have one very important thing in common. A voice. May we all motivate each other and ourselves to use that voice to express how we feel and stand up for what we feel is right. The talents and gifts each of us have were given to us so that we can do so with confidence and love for ourselves. It is time to understand the misunderstood.

Love, Lily