but I suspect everyone needs to hear this at some point:

You are not garbage.
The hairs on your head,
the freckles on your arm,
the individual cells in your body
are counted and loved as they are.
Don’t force yourself
to fit into boxes you don’t.

You are not broken,
though dents and bruises come.
Don’t block yourself off
from potential hurt–
locking yourself in with the
fear, anger and pain you already have–
building walls so well that
hope and healing can’t get in.

When the world makes you feel like an “other,”
remember this:
we are all “other,”
and we are all “us.”
Reject anything
that tells you otherwise.
And when you truly believe this,
let someone else know it, too.