I came into this world
With a body,
a mind,
a heart,
a soul.
I was born in this body. I have no choice in the matter.
Perhaps I am in the wrong body,
I am a girl but I feel like a boy.
Perhaps I am disabled,
Perhaps I am diseased,
Perhaps I am tall,
Perhaps I am short.
I was born in this body.
I am fed what is put in my grocery stores,
I am fed what is put in my lunch bag,
I am fed what is put on my plate.
I was born with this beautiful mind.
Yet I will grow up with an attitude,
Reflecting the programming I received starting when I was born.
I am fed societal concepts of right and wrong,
Of beautiful and ugly,
Of intelligent and stupid.
I am programmed,
I am produced to be how they want me to be.
In my thoughts, words and actions
I will unknowingly judge, offend and hurt
A countless number of people.
I will grow up with my reality
Being the only truth I know.
I was born with this loving heart,
Yet I will learn hatred,
I will learn blame, fear, guilt, shame, and sadness.
I was born with this pristine soul,
Yet I will witness inequality and injustice.
I will see wars, murder, suicide and immeasurable suffering.
But I was born to change the world!
I have the power to erase the erroneous truths I was programmed to believe.
I have the power to love, accept and nurture the image I see in the mirror.
I have the right to heal myself with any means possible.
I was born with a loving heart.
I have the power to rise above the hatred instilled in me
From any external input or historical events.
I was born with a pristine soul.
This is my journey,
These are my lessons to learn,
My mistakes to make,
My scars to heal,
My steps to take,
My path to pave.
No one but me dictates who I am,
What I feel,
Who I love,
How I live.
I choose not to be ignorant,
I chose not to be programmed
Based on the programming of those who came before me.
I am an individual.
I will not let my differences isolate me from my human brothers and sisters
Solely because I feel misunderstood.
I will foster a world
Where misunderstanding and hatred
Are replaced with constructive communication
And common humanity.
I see a world of beautiful minds, bodies, hearts, and souls.
They may not look like me
But they feel like me,
They love like me.
I was not born to let the past dictate the future;
I was born to change the lens
Through which we look at each other
Though which we look at the world,
Because this prescription expired
Hundreds of years ago.