Sometimes in life, you just feel invisible. It seems as though no matter what is going on, people cannot seem to see that something has changed and your demeanor has altered.

This may surprise a lot of you, but for the past month or so, I have not been myself. My happy and talkative days slowly started dwindling, and I became more introverted. No one around me seemed to notice that I was unhappy, or they just ignored it because they could not be bothered. It was not until I was caught crying one night that people bothered to ask if I was okay, yet it was never the people I considered to be my friends. When I finally mentioned to a person why I was having a hard time, they did not try to offer assistance in any form of way--they actually did things that made me feel even worse. So, I just continued to draw a smile on my face and keep quiet.

For weeks, it seemed as if no one could see that I was struggling to find a place where I belong and could be happy--I had lost mine when I realized my life was filled with the wrong type of people. Yet, it took an individual I barely even knew just a few minutes to realize that something about me had changed. Thank you for noticing and being genuinely concerned about what was happening in my life. You may not know it, but offering to hang out with me whenever I would like or even just being a phone call away at 2 a.m. truly makes a difference in my life.

How could you have known that just that previous night, I sat alone in my room crying over a picnic my house put together that I was never invited to? That I felt as though no one noticed I was alone? You never could have guessed that. But by just giving me thirty minutes of your time to just talk about problems, how you had issues with friends as well so you understood what I was going through, it was as though someone was finally seeing me.

My smile felt more genuine, even though I may not have reverted back to that person I usually appeared to be. Yet another observer from the masses of people I see almost daily noticed I was acting off. After class, my teacher pointed out with such great concern that she noticed something was wrong with me. An adult with so many other things to worry about and students to attend to noticed that I was acting less like my normal self. Even after a few minutes of speaking, I began to feel better. She listened to my problems--how I had basically fallen away from everyone I knew and just wanted to find people I may fit in with.

Not only did she listen, she began to think of solutions. From the nature of the class and how participative and enthusiastic I appeared to be, this shining light offered up different group and activities that she believed would be the right choice for a person like myself. It felt as though the light I saw in this woman began to illuminate myself. I was being seen and people were actually concerned about my happiness.

Thank you to the student who went out of their way to make sure I am okay. Thank you to the teacher who pays enough attention to her students to realize when they act differently. Thank you for noticing that I am having a hard time and wanting to become a part of the solution. Thank you for being the tone changer of my entire day. Thank you for giving me a reason to smile as I go to bed instead of fretting over the loneliness I felt.

For anyone who has ever felt lost or alone, just remember that you are not. Someone will notice. Someone cares. And someone wants to make a positive difference for you. If you really are struggling, just know that I care. Maybe I do not know you, but I care and I want to notice. You are not invisible.