my compassion keeps me grounded, if I didn't have that I don't know who I'd be. I live my life through empathy, through story and heart and breath, I try my best to listen more than I speak. but it's hard sometimes, because there's so much that I need to say.
if I could, I'd take with me everyone who loves me, and I'd bring there somewhere warm where we'd all be safe. I forget how strong I am, that my arms can hold in all the worry and desperation escaping from someone I love.
my eyes can see past the superficial and right down into the deepest secret place. it helps me feel more human to help others.
but sometimes I'm scared I'll lose myself in them, feel myself melt into someone else's world until I can't find my own anymore. I bring that quiet courage here to you, to teach you how to love so deeply that the other person becomes an extension of yourself, feeling what you feel and laughing as you laugh. finding beauty in others helps me find the beauty in myself.
I had to travel a long way before I got this far. I didn't fall into a well of strength by accident, I had to pull it out from within me, from a place I didn't know existed.
if I had only one thing to say, it would be to trust yourself beyond anything you ever thought possible. believe your own story and the things you've brought from your hometown to here, wherever you've settled. allow yourself to be as scared as you feel, but step forward anyway.
through telling my story, I hope that every shy kid on this planet finds their voice, and that every courageous mouth finds the ears to listen.