"Fight it back."
"Stop crying, you're stronger than that."

We have all been told these things as if being in a state of vulnerability is the worst place to be, but my God, we're human. This society teaches us to strive for perfection when such a thing is utterly impossible. We're taught to put on a tough front and suppress all and any emotions because somehow, any expression of your feelings makes you soft or weak, God forbid. We need to stop shaming people for their emotions. We need to stop thinking that feeling nothing, is better than feeling something. We need to stop thinking that our humanity is what is making us weak when in reality, it's all we have.

We need to stick together.

If you know someone who's hurting, hold onto them and never let them go. Let them know that their hurt is hurting you and if they apologize, because believe me they will, let them know that it's okay.

It's okay to cry. It's okay to hurt. It's okay to feel like you're drowning when nothing but air is entering your lungs. What isn't okay is to believe that you are the only one that feels this way. What isn't okay is to believe that no one cares about how you feel or that no one would give a damn if you were to leave because believe me, someone cares. You are someone's entire world, and for you to leave this one would be the end of theirs and we cannot afford to start that domino effect. You are still here and for good reason. You have so much ahead of you- so much opportunity, so much hope and so much happiness. It's okay to feel the way you do, just don't feel that way forever. Don't think that you have to hold it all in to be strong. You've made it this far, you are already strong. You have a breath of fresh air waiting for you after you open up your heart. Someone is here for you and you are so incredibly loved. Please, stay awhile.

You can suppress, suppress, suppress all you want, but I promise you, one day you are going to explode. This world is too harsh to take on alone. Stop letting society influence how you express your emotions and how often. Catch the feels, catch all the feels, because the second you stop feeling is the second you die. Love, spread love, embrace love. Embrace sadness and stress, because it's from these feelings that you grow. So feel, because humanity is not dead. It's who we are.