excerpts

1.9

To a friend who can't see the amazing individual she happens to be

There is no such thing as normality. It does not exist. What people consider normal is only within a certain set of parameters that vary from scenario to scenario. If something is truly normal, it must be constant. Normality is a shifting standard. You may think of yourself as the only one who is plain gray in a world of vibrant hues, but you are not. Everyone has some sort of quirk or peculiar fetish that marks them as an individual. Quit thinking you're the dregs of society, it does no good. You're special and beautiful, so please stop. If you happen to be gray, that only means you're on the other end of the spectrum from normal. You clearly see our world full of people in varying levels of intriguing colors. What does a patch of gray on a colorful canvas look like? It stands out. It's different. It's not forgotten, but seen, when every other color has been swirled into a hodgepodge of one terrifying color scheme. Take a moment to be silent. Listen to your breaths, feel your heartbeat, steady, the sign that you're alive. Your body is soul armor. Look inside yourself, even to what you think are plain grays. Nobody is completely normal. Normal is boring. But boring isn't normal either.

From your friend who's done a lot of soul searching