We all will lose if we give up

Hey guys. I wanted to talk to you about something for a minute. My last entry as well as a couple of random things that popped up as suggestions on YouTube lately have gotten me thinking.

What I want to talk to you about is a pretty serious subject. I wanted to put this out there before I went away on vacation because something feels like it’s telling me to do it. So here we go.

Let’s talk about pain and death for a bit, shall we? What I want to tell you guys is that I’ve been seeing a LOT in regards to talking about suicide and cutting and not having anywhere to turn and feeling lost, lonely,left out…all of that stuff lately. I don’t know if it’s just the time of year, but it seems like so many people are feeling the same way recently. And honestly, it bothers me. Not because of the taboo subjects, but because I’ve been there. I know what it’s like. I know the feeling. I remember feeling so down and out that I couldn’t see how things would ever, ever get better. I was mentally and emotionally and spiritually beaten down by my father. I was threatened more times than I can count. I was told not to come home if I so much as scratched his truck once. He was a bully. I wasn’t bullied at school, but…what do you do when the one place you ARE bullied is the place that people assume you’re safe?

This isn’t about me, though. This is about you. I’m only here to tell you that I do understand what it’s like. I closed myself off for a very long time before starting to let people in because I didn’t trust that I wasn’t crazy and/or over-exaggerating the situations. Now I know I wasn’t.

But I also know that things got better. I found a group of friends who let me talk about this stuff. I found ways to get on with my life and move beyond what was holding me down. And you know what? I know that you can too. I don’t know who might be reading this, but whoever you are, just know that you’re special. You’re on this planet for a reason and you mean something to someone. You mean something to ME. And if for any reason you decide you don’t want to live on this planet anymore, it would break my heart, so please…before you do something drastic, give things another try. Find a way.

Maybe you feel like you don’t have any friends or maybe you feel like your home life sucks or you get bullied in school or you’re part of the LGBT* community and you don’t feel accepted by those around you…whatever the case is, you’re important and you’re an integral part of someone else’s life. You may not see it because people don’t always have the greatest way of showing that they care and they may not even realize that you’re feeling the way you do. But it’s true. Someone out there considers you to be extremely unique and they want you to stick around. I want you to stick around.

I might not know you or your story or where you come from, or even why you feel the way you do, but I promise you…whatever you’re going through, it WILL change. It WILL get better. You just need to stick it out for a little while longer until it does. Life changes, people change, people come and go. The same people that you feel aren’t doing you justice won’t always be there. New, better people will step in to take their places and you’ll see how much better things will get.

I can’t ask you to believe me, but I will ask you to trust me. At least, for now. Please. The world needs more of you and less people who make the planet a negative place. Be a positive light. And if this message helps you at all, I only ask that you try to pay it forward and help someone else. Make friends with someone who seems like a bit of an outcast. Just say smile and say hi. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times a crappy day has turned around for me just because some random stranger took the time to smile and say hello to me. Sometimes that small gesture means the world to someone. You never know who you might be saving in return, even if you don’t know it.

My message is simply this: Be who you are. Know that you won’t always get along with everyone and they won’t always like you, but that’s ok. YOU’RE ok. It doesn’t mean that you’re not a great person. It just means that people are different. Also know that it’s ok to be different and unique and ‘weird’. It’s the weird ones that make the biggest difference. You might not be able to change the world single-handedly, but you can change a life. Things will change for the better. I want you to be able to stick around to see it.

Even if I don’t know you, don’t be afraid to ask for help if you run across this page and need someone to talk to. I’m opening my OD up to all notes, signed or not, so if there’s something you need to get off your chest, by all means, feel free. I want you to know I care. I want you to know that there’s someone out here in the world who cares how you’re feeling.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-8255

National Bullying Prevention Center

It Gets Better Project