You Don't Belong Here

People do not like different. I have learned this very well over the years. The idea of normalcy is what the general public idealizes. They want things to seem ideal, "normal", no muss and no fuss. Especially if you live in the South, you're raised to believe that your whole job is to grow up, get good grades, go to church, raise a family, get a good job, and then essentially die, but we're never made to question what if there's more? What if I want to do more? Even as a young child, I knew I was different. My mother expected me to get straight A's, but I got B's and C's. I was expected to be a good little church girl and never question my parents. For the longest time, I didn't, but then in high school, things began to change. I met those who would become my sisters. I've been through hell and high water with these women. We've gone from girls to women together, we've laughed, we've cried, and when our parents failed us, we made a bond so strong that no one could break it. We promised each other we would take care of each other until death. Together, we formed a sisterhood. In high school, we joined a club together called T.A.D. (Teens Against Drugs). We were made fun of quite heavily, but it was a subject we were all passionate about, so one day we performed a demonstration. We dressed in black as if going to a funeral because in our minds, we were. My sister Alisha dressed as the Grim Reaper. I can still feel the rain pouring down on us as we made our way to the middle of our school's walkway. There was a large statue there that was called "Aspiration Point," and we had made several mock graves and placed them around the statue prior to the demonstration to show the loss that drugs can cause. We placed ourselves around the "Aspiration Point" just before the first bell and knelt in respect of those lost to drugs and alcohol. We knew we would be yelled at, mocked, but we had resolved ourselves to not move, and move we did not. The crowds started to gather, the other teenagers jeered and mocked, and then proceeded to throw things at us. Whatever they could find, things from the trash, things from their backpacks, things on the ground etc. I got hit by cans, notebooks, actual textbooks, pens, pencils, etc. I opened my eyes once to glance at my sisters, and they were still kneeling, eyes closed, so I closed mine too. Mostly, the only way I knew what was hitting me was by the way it felt on my body when it hit. I didn't open my eyes or move. I prayed...silently and fervently to whoever may be listening, be it God or my spirit guides or all of the above. I prayed they would be forgiven, and I prayed they would never have to lose a loved one due to drugs or alcohol. I prayed one day they would understand why we did this. Finally, after what felt like forever but was only 5 minutes, security guards came and broke up the crowd and made them go to class. After the bell, we rose slowly, deliberately, gathered our things, and went to class. I don't recall if we spoke much or if I cried, but I remember the walk to class that day being very somber and quiet. We were soaked, hurting in more ways than one, and had a headful of thoughts. I didn't tell my mother about that day, I didn't tell my stepfather or my daddy. This I kept between my sisters and me. Over the years, my sisters and I have been through so much together. Trauma, heartbreak, death, loss, grief, happiness, birthing our children, laughter, trips, memories, etc., and through it all, we come back to each other. We are all witches, and that is another subject that gets a bad rap. When most people think of witches, they think of old ladies with long, ugly, bumpy noses and pointy hats. They think of devil worship, you must be crazy and evil. If anyone would take even just a few minutes to do some research, they would know that's not at all what it means to be a witch. We love nature and respect her as the Great Spirit's creation. We use crystals and herbs as spells of good wishes and to send certain intentions into the Universe. You will not meet many a witch who uses these things for evil intentions. I consider myself to be a mix of Christian, Native American beliefs, Pagan, and Wiccan. Each of my sisters might say something different, though, but we each have somewhere along the same belief system. My point is that we are all different, none of us is the same, and if we could only come to realize that, maybe different wouldn't seem so scary, and the general public wouldn't feel such a need to make everything into a system. We are human beings! We were made to be different and unique, not machines that all do the same thing and think the same. Everyone needs to wake up! Why are we so hard on each other for just being human? Why do we victim-blame? Why do we expect our children to all get perfect grades, learn the same way, and grow up just to work and die? To me, this is the most disgusting thing we can do as humans. The ugly truth is that none of us belongs here. None of us deserves to live on such a beautiful planet, but here we are, so let's be kind to each other, love, and remember we are all different.