It’s that look on another person’s face when they see you do something that you never told them about. It’s that look when you show up somewhere and everyone is completely taken off guard that you came at all. It’s that look when you reveal something that you struggle with that no one ever suspected.

So many times, we are taken back by the revelations of others because what they say and what they do simply don’t fit with the boxes we had placed them in. For some, it’s only a small thing, like showing people you can actually dance when you always refused to before. For others, it’s telling them that you struggle with depression or have had thoughts of death.

Maybe your parents died when you were little. Maybe you were bullied in school. Maybe you struggled with mental illness or had weight issues throughout your childhood. Maybe you had learning difficulties or were addicted to things which simply wouldn’t do you any good in the long run.

Maybe you were abandoned as a child. Maybe you were abused. Maybe you never knew your parents, or your parents were so distant that it was like you had none at all.

Maybe you were homeless. Maybe you were raised in foster care or were adopted. Maybe you dropped out of school or had to work full-time in addition to going to school because you couldn’t afford to follow your dreams otherwise.

Maybe you were homosexual. Maybe you didn’t feel like you fit within your birth gender or you were discriminated against because of your skin color or citizenship status.

Maybe you never understood your work or you couldn’t ever get a job no matter how hard you tried.

Maybe you still struggle. Maybe you still don’t know what to do. Maybe you wish that you could turn back the past so you could make different choices.

I don’t know what it is that you personally struggle with. I don’t know your background.I may not share your beliefs. I may disagree with your behavior. I may not understand what you have gone through or what know what happened years ago that still affects your mental and emotional state today.

No matter all of this, I want to be your friend.

I know the dichotomy of faces that we always put on in order to hide the deepest parts of ourselves. I know the walls that are installed in order to protect that which makes us most vulnerable. I know the pain of the silence that constantly pushes us down into the depths of despair because we feel so alone in our struggle.

And I want to break that silence. I want to speak to those who have struggled. I want to know their stories.I want them to know that they are not alone. That it’s not too late. It’s not the end.

There is so much more out there.

There is so much more we could be doing. And the best way is doing it together. To stand with others. To know that we belong somewhere. That we are loved. Those are the greatest gifts we could be given.

Let us band together in our differences. Let our differences not define the relationship, but those things that we have built together. Let us welcome those who disagree with us.It’s important to listen attentively to what others have to say. When there is disagreement, maybe they have a point.

Let us listen. Let us practice what we always preach. Treats others how we would want to be treated. And I don’t think that’s terribly.

Thank you.

Have a wonderful day.

Naomi signing out.