Community, Love, and Trust

I believe that no one is meant to be alone. People are social creatures. We want good friends, we want to be accepted, we want some one to love us. When that doesnʼt happen we break, our trust is splintered, and our hearts fracture. Without people we are nothing. We need people to be there for us, but are we there for other people?

When I was younger I never had friends for a long period of time. That’s because I was born with a birth defect that caused my upper lip to not develop (Cleft Lip). At 3 weeks into my life I was readmitted into the hospital for reconstructive surgery. By the end of elementary school, surgeries to fix the problems with my mouth and face were not surprising. It wasnʼt fair. It simply wasnʼt. I always wanted someone to be there for me, to understand me. But no one was. I didnʼt realize that to have some one care, you have to care.

Three years ago I went to the mall. I was coming out of Dickʼs Sporting Goodʼs and there was a kid with arm crutches. It was terrible to see him, he dragged his feet because his legs were disfigured. He stopped in front of the display at Bebe. The picture of a perfect woman with the perfect shoes and prefect dress with the perfect guy. I saw him and I knew what he was thinking, because I had thought the same thing. “Iʼm too messed up for anyone to care. No one wants to know me.” Right there he fell down in front of the display, crying to himself. No one was there. Just me and my family. Right there I almost went up to him, I almost talked to him, I almost showed that I cared. Then I walked away. I walked to the food court to eat my Panda Express.

I had become the person who didnʼt care. It tore me up inside. I couldn’t believe that I didnʼt do anything. I had let this child wallow in self-pity, knowing that it wasnʼt me. I was the crowd, I had joined the sea of uncaring people.

After that, I knew that to be cared for I had to care about other people. I had to trust people not to take me in and rip me up.

I believe that a man reaps what he sows. That if hope, love, sympathy, trust are given that they will be received. That if I hate, detest, and judge then I am judged and I am a hypocrite.