All As We...

TO STAND ALONE IS A FRIGHTENING PROSPECT, BUT TO LOSE WHO YOU ARE FOR FEAR OF BEING RIDICULED OR TREATED AS AN OUTCAST IS A FAR WORSE HAPPENING.

I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE A STORY OF A GIRL WHO WAS NEVER ACCEPTED BY THE 'IN' CROWD. SOMEONE EVERYONE MADE FUN OF. SOMEONE WHO WAS SO LONELY, SHE FELT LOST TO THE WORLD; BUT IN HER HEART SHE KNEW WHO SHE WAS. THIS GIRL HAD WILD, WIRY HAIR THAT LOOKED AS THOUGH IT WAS NEVER COMBED. SHE WASN'T LIKE THE OTHER KIDS AT SCHOOL. SHE WOULD RATHER SIT AND WRITE POETRY, AND MAKE UP SONGS THAN HANG OUT AND TALK ABOUT BOYS. SHE ACHED TO HAVE FRIENDS, BUT WASN'T INTERESTED IN THE SAME THINGS AS HER PEERS. THEY THOUGHT SHE WAS WEIRD. THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHY SHE WAS DIFFERENT, AND CHOSE NOT TO TRY. RATHER THAN OPENING THEIR HEARTS TO THIS STRANGE FLOWER, THEY CAST HER OUT OF THE GARDEN. SHE DIDN'T FIT IN. AS THE YEARS PASSED SHE NEVER LET GO OF WHO SHE WAS. INSTEAD SHE GREW THROUGH THE EMOTIONAL PAIN, AND DISCOVERED SHE HAD A GIFT. SHE HAD THE GIFT OF SONG. SHE DISCOVERED SHE COULD TAKE THOSE MELODIES SHE HEARD INSIDE OF HER HEAD AND MAKE MUSIC. SHE COULD REACH INTO A PERSONS SOUL. THIS GIFT, TOUCHED MILLIONS OF PEOPLE. THAT MISFIT WHOM EVERYONE PUT UPON, WHO WAS THE BUTT OF EVERY JOKE, AND THE TARGET OF SO MUCH CRUELTY WAS JANIS JOPLIN. WE ALL KNOW HER MUSIC. IT HELPED DEFINE AN ENTIRE GENERATION. JANIS JOPLIN LOST HER LIFE IN HER TWENTIES DUE TO A DRUG OVER-DOSE. SHE HAD USED DRUGS TO ESCAPE THE TAUNTING AND THE TEASING BECAUSE OF HER DIFFERENCES. BUT BECAUSE JANIS JOPLIN DARED TO STAND ALONE, AND REMAIN TRUE TO WHO SHE WAS... A WORLD OF PEOPLE HAS BENEFITED FROM THE MUSIC AND MESSAGES SHE SHARED.

WE, EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US, DEPEND AND LEAN ON AT LEAST ONE OTHER PERSON, IF NOT MANY OTHERS; FOR LOVE, ACCEPTANCE, AND ENCOURAGEMENT. AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME THERE IS AN ESTIMATED 6,780,577,643 PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US IS SPECIAL, AND DIFFERENT, AND ODD. WHAT A COLORFUL WORLD WE LIVE IN, WITH SO MANY WONDERFUL PERSONALITIES, AND VIEWS. TO LOSE SOMEONE, OR TO LOSE YOURSELF, BECAUSE YOU FELT INADEQUATE, UNSURE, OR WORTHLESS WOULD BE A GREAT LOSS. IN KEEPING AN OPEN MIND, AND HEART, WE ARE A PART OF A BEAUTIFUL CREATION. TO SAVE A LIFE IS TO SAVE THE WORLD. WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE PERSON SITTING NEXT TO US IS CAPABLE OF, OR WHAT THEY WILL ACCOMPLISH IN THEIR LIFETIME. WHAT WE DO KNOW IS WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO ACCEPT AND LOVE THEM FOR EXACTLY WHO THEY ARE TODAY. LOVE THEM FOR THEIR POTENTIAL. AND THAT INCLUDES OURSELVES. TO STAY TRUE TO WHO WE ARE; AND ALL WE ARE CAPABLE OF.