What it Takes

Fearlessness
To be able to handle the stares, the questions, the constant screaming.
Laughter
To be able to be comfortable laughing at the way things sometimes don't turn out as planned.
Patience
To be willing to take the time to learn how to communicate.
Kindness
To let me eat your fries.
Most of all - Love for Humankind
To see the value, dignity and worth in all people.

That is what it takes to be in my circle of friends.
 

Words

The only word that really makes my skin crawl is
The R-Word.
Maybe you don't think that I can hear you or see your expression when you look at me.
I am not the R-Word.
I am so much more than you can understand.
The R-Word helps you to push me away,
to make me less human
less valuable
less than you.
The R-Word is not an acceptable noun.
It shouldn't be an adjective either.
It's painful
mean
and makes you less than who you are too.
Stop it.
Now.
It's not a swear word
not an insult
Nothing.
The name you can use for me is
Aleksandra.

All The Time

All the time we spend being strong for other people
could be spent being open and honest about how we feel.
All the time we spend worrying about other people's impressions of us
could be spent living authentically who we are.
All the time we spend being self-critical, questioning if we said or did the right thing
could be spent loving ourselves for who we are.

We spend so much of our lives wondering why life is the way it is:
disease, disability, war, slavery, evil...
We never spend that much time focused on light, on joy, on the goodness around us.
We ought to dream bigger - to look for light in the cracks in times of darkness.
Find time.
Make time:
for light, for hope, for love.

Imagine what our world would look like.