People who were born different
People who were raised differently
People who look and think differently
People like me
People like you
People like us
They try to beat us into place
Convince us that no one wants us
Erase us from the narrative
Hope that everyone forgets about us
Then leave us to deal with the trauma
All on our own
But we are not alone
We are not wrong
Every single person in this world is different in a million different ways
Who are they to say that their ways are right and ours are wrong?
We are different
We are unique
We cannot be silenced
We cannot be erased
I know you can't hear me
But I want to tell you
What lies ahead
For us
People won't understand you
They'll label you as troublesome
They'll keep telling you to try harder
They'll make you angry
because they think it's funny
They'll cast you out
And drift away
And you will feel like there's nowhere
that you can belong
You'll twist yourself into a bizarre shape
Not you, not anyone
A perversion of what you think others want
Never quite what you want to be
You're going to get tricked and betrayed
Hurt and abused
You'll end up feeling so hopelessly alone
You're going to want to give up so many times
Before you finally see what you've been missing
You're going to find the person inside you
That you will love with all your heart
A person you will proudly show on your outside
every day, without reservation
You will embrace what you love
Your interests, your passions
And find the people that accept them
That accept you
It's going to take a lot of pain
A lot of loss, a lot of heartbreak
But one day, you will know acceptance
You will know belonging
You will hear your voice and love it
You will see the real you in the mirror
And finally be able to say
without reservation or doubt