One of Those Faces

Whenever I go out, people talk to me. Or think they know me. Tell me their life stories or trade pie recipes. Older men hit on me. Older women think I work at stores all the time. One man at a restaurant told me about his son who died of brain cancer and how he used to play the guitar beautifully. A woman on the street in New York hugged me and blessed me because I smiled at her. A man on a bus in Chicago took time out of his day to show me and my friends how to get to where we were going after having a great conversation about disabilities. Today, the cashier at a grocery store lamented to me that she wouldn't be able to spend Thanksgiving with her son because she would be working. My friends don't believe it until they witness this happening to me and they are mesmerized.

The thing is...so am I. I feel so happy and amazed that these beautiful people see something in me and share things with me and I just wanted to say that your stories and thoughts touch me. I have cherished these moments in my heart. I hope that someday people reach out to each other regularly and it isn't surprising or strange. I hope people become braver and more kind-hearted. The things that people share here...why aren't we able to say these things to people? Not even to the people who love us. Maybe my resolution for the New Year should be to be unapologetically unafraid of being myself? And create an environment where others feel free to do the same.

Peace.