Pride

I was a quiet one when I was a child. I never showed out or acted wild.

Never seemed to cause a stir. Always kept myself mature

As I continually grew, some unrecognizable changes took hold.
When they took over, somehow my world became bitter and cold

  I always felt and knew there was something inside of me that seemed easy enough to hide.
I tried to do so and was successful although I continually felt ostracized

Until I began to recognize the signs of my difference and uniqueness, I began to witness the impact of the fact that I was damaging my well-being and putting myself through consistent hell

By not giving the real me a chance to shine, I fell behind and became enshrined within a shell of an unnatural self

I felt alone, depressed, monotone, obsessed with hiding, blinding myself from who I was. All this ridiculousness because "it's not right, it's not the norm" and I could feel my heart, my soul and my mind being torn. My insides felt distorted and I became forlorn.

My body hurt, like it was dragged and ran through rough dirt and cement. It was as if I was meant to be tortured for sure.

The final straw was when I decided to break the "law" of society and come out of this horrific insanity!

I began to let down this shield and released my isolating shrine. Finally I am able to proclaim my soul as mine!

I let loose the noose around my neck, hands and feet so I could learn to dance to a different beat!

I am not a freak of nature, nor am I a person to be labeled as weird. I am human being and my feelings, thoughts and way of life should not be feared.

We need to realize that we are all different and too much of our lives are spent with imitations and forced limitations drilled into our minds, bodies and abilities.

As soon as we take responsibility for our own, that should indicate that we are indeed grown, make our own choices and raise our own voices.

We are natural, real, our hearts are pure. Society should not be judgmental and so obscure.
We only want to be free, to retain our individuality and celebrate our diversity! Let us be who we were born to be!

Let it be known that I will no longer step down and be labeled as a sad clown.

As I stand before you today, I am finally able to say.

I AM BEAUTIFUL JUST THE WAY I AM!