This is for the different, the misfit, the one that refuses to step into line.
This is for the ones being called names for not fitting in or looking like all the rest.
This is a hug for the woman dismissed as “sweetheart” and believed to be brainless. A slap on the ass and a stare at the chest.
This is for all the times you were judged by your looks alone, for all of the times you were told to smile more, sit up straight, change your clothes, shut your mouth.
This is for the ones told to Stay in Your Lane or get back in the kitchen or the bedroom.
This is for all the times your quiet demeanor was mistaken for weakness.
This one’s for your soft voice being trampled over and dismissed by louder ones, even by someone you love.
This one is for all the times you were pushed down, held down, shut down. For trying to use your voice only to have it be ignored, torn apart deliberately misunderstood.
This one’s for daring to go against the flow, for continually being told you’re wrong, stupid, or uninformed by those in caves and boxes of their own design.
This one is for the publicly shamed or humiliated for simply being you.
This one is for the ones brave enough to
Keep
On
Going.
