Dear you,

It's okay.

This letter is addressed to not only myself, but to those like me. Sometimes, you need to hear it from someone just as wild, weird, and different as you are. It helps you remember that someone, somewhere understands, it helps people like you and I feel less alone. We are the underdogs, the wallflowers, the freaks, and geeks. Take a look around at the world today, the separation between humanity due to difference of opinion. Everyone is in constant conflict because one person is different than billions of others. Little do they know, that exact ignorant ridicule is how we have lived our entire lives. Now it seems as though the whole world has fallen into its own trap. But for us, it's okay.

"Okay? What do you mean it's okay?" Because now is our time to dare to be different, just like we have always done. We must do it unapologetically, we've been ridiculed and beaten up our entire lives because we dared to be unlike everyone else, this is nothing new, other than the fact that now we are older, wiser, and stronger than we once were. While the whole world is stuck in the trap that society built for us, we can rise above it! You and I were built for this, we've been standing up to bullies most of our lives, each blow we have taken, both mental and physical has made each of us who we are today. We are the ones who made it out alive and that's something to be proud of.

How does that make you feel? There have been people just like you in the past that never made it to where we are. Either they gave into the dark thoughts, or "harmless teasing" went too far...and what will we say to them if/when we meet up with them in the afterlife? Would you rather be able to tell them "I lived my life bravely, and I decided to be me. I am happy." Or would you want to tell them "I was afraid, the expectations of today's society stood in my way and I lived my life in a way that I am not proud of. I tried too hard to be normal, and I became greatly unhappy." It's okay to be odd, it's okay to be strange, weird, obscure, eccentric, bizarre, quirky, outlandish, whatever word you prefer! As long as you own it, it's okay.

Ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, it's okay to be different. Ultimately, no two people are exactly alike. Go out into the world and be your fabulous, weird, wild, HAPPY self. If anyone tries to stop you, simply smile and say "If I am weird to you, shouldn't you also be weird to me? I mean no two people are alike, but we are still very alike, are we not?" And then strut away like the beautiful freak you are! Don't let anyone or anything stop you, "normal" had never been a real thing. And remember, you are never alone.