It gets better: A letter to my younger self

Dearest Little One, I know you’ve been having a rough time. We’re dealing with the grief of it all as well here and now. Just wanted to take the time to reach out and let you know how proud we are of you. You’ve survived and adapted to the world you found yourself in, with no say on your part. It was a world that frequently didn’t make sense, that was too loud, too harsh, too much. It was filled with people that were downright perplexing in the way they would say one thing and mean something else. People that could be so cruel to one another. A world that gave the resounding message of “conform or face total destruction”. Don’t you dare breathe a syllable of, nor display, any differences we are not willing to tolerate. You’d seen what these two-faced monsters could do to those they deemed weird, different or undesirable. So you hid yourself. Armor on. Eyes alert. Read the room. Know who your safe people are and stick close. Always have an exit buddy. If unsure, be quiet, smile and…