alone." This one is for those that don't know, or have forgotten. Somewhere right now there

is a young girl sitting at a dinner table, trying to think of an excuse to get up and

go to the bathroom so she can make herself throw up the meal she's just finished eating.

Somewhere else, there's a young boy sitting in a bathroom stall, bawling his eyes out

while he tries to keep the razor blade steady. Halfway around the world, there's a woman

sitting in the corner of her bedroom, trying to block out the voices long enough so she

can take a shower. There's a man jumping from strange bed to strange bed, each morning greeted

by a different face, hoping that the next one will be the one to break through and make

him feel something. To that boy in class trying to hide his wrists from his teachers, and

the girl huddled on the bathroom floor, crying because she can't stop herself from vomiting,

to the woman who can't grip anything because her fingernails are chewed to the point of

bleeding, and the man who wishes that for just a moment he could genuinely cry, or smile,

or feel ANYTHING. To the kids who stay up at night crying because they can't figure

out why they're not like everyone else, and to those who feel like they're slowly drowning

because they're too busy hiding that secret part of them from their loved ones, I see

you, and you are not alone. I know that doesn't make everything alright, and I know it doesn't

bring your mother, father, husband, or wife home at night, and I know it doesn't stop

the voices in the back of your mind telling you that it's all your fault. I know that

these words are not a cure-all, and they're not going to change the world, but you need

to know that you are not alone. You are special BECAUSE you are not like them. You are a superhero.

You belong to a select group of individuals who are forced to hide their secret identity

behind a mask, and THAT is nothing to be ashamed of. They will never understand the kind of

superpower that it takes for some people to just get out of bed in the morning. They will

never know the daily struggle that it takes for some to simply function. And that's okay,

because not everyone is meant to understand what that means, but what it means is that

you are beautiful. You are worth it. You are stronger than you think, and you are stronger

than they could possibly know. I know that when they tell you that "everyone struggles,"

or that you just "just get over it," all you want to do is punch them in the throat. But

just remember that just because THEY don't know, does not mean that you are all alone.

It may not get easier, but I promise that it gets better. So keep on putting on your

cape every morning and saving your world one heroic act at a time. And don't ever let them

make you feel like forcing yourself to get out of bed, or take a shower, or eat, is not

a heroic deed. Because for some, there's no such thing as a simple task. And that is unfair,

I know. But when you're at your lowest, just remember:You are not alone.