Stand Up and Stand Out

Hi! So many you don’t know me and that’s ok. I try not to be someone that is noticeable. All of you know me as that girl who sits in the corner of the class who quietly gets straight A’s and reads her 400 page novel. Well, I do do that. But what I also do is watch you all. That’s right. I’m a creeper too. But seriously, I watch you all everyday. I listen to what you talk to each other about and I see you in the hallways everyday. If you thought that no one noticed that you started to wear long sleeves after your dog died, I noticed. If you thought no one could tell that you stopped eating lunch after that guy dumped you for the cheerleader, I noticed. If you think that you’re being slick when you go to the bathroom for 10 minutes and come back smelling like the inside of a Jamaican music store and 20 canisters of AXE body spray, then you obviously are just stupid. The point is that I see you. I see you guys trying to be cool in order to feel whole. I see you crying over a test you got a 93 on. I see the light in your eyes slowly go out everyday. I just want you guys to know that it will be ok. You will survive. You will make it and have a great story to tell others and encourage them. I know this because that was me. I was like you all. I’m still like you all. But I’m here to tell you that I don’t want you to feel like I feel. You deserve better. We all deserve better. This is what we will have as long we remind ourselves that we are worth it. You are worth. I am worth. Always count your blessings instead of your worries. And if someone tries to rain on your parade, just poke them in the eye with your umbrella.