The more I open up, the more I realize I’m not alone. The more I share, the more others relate. The more I’m able to express what's inside, the more I see it reflected inside others, too. And it makes me wonder, if we all somehow go through the same things and experience almost the same feelings, why do we still continue to make it hard for each other? Why do we hide behind masks and make everyone else think something’s terribly wrong with them instead? Why do we feel our hearts beating so hard and loud against our chests, yet still shame those whose hands so visibly shake? Why do we despise failure so much, and yet walk around making everyone else feel like they’re the only ones who haven’t made it yet, when we’re all pretty much drowning in the very same sea? It’s so hard to be steering through this life feeling so alone, but the thing is, we really don’t have to. It’s okay to hold each other’s hands while doing it. Because really, we’re hardly ever alone.

October 20, 2020