I distinctly remember the day I first cracked. A friend of mine told me a secret. It was something that left me speechless mainly because had it been me, I never would’ve had the guts to tell anyone. He just dumped it on me, no warning and no easing into it. He looked me straight in the eyes to see if I would falter as a friend, as a human. I stood in awe of the amount of courage it must’ve taken to face the possibility of judgment and rejection like that. In that moment… lost in silence, I felt myself overcome with a giant wave of love and compassion for my friend. It was so strong and came from such an innate place that it startled me. It wasn’t my brain thinking of how to react; it was just a human reflex to embrace him. All of him… secrets, flaws, imperfections, all of it. In that moment, his I saw his humanity shining far brighter than any tarnish this secret threatened him with. I decided from that moment on, I would crack open my shiny, painted, carefully constructed, porcelain exterior and begin to let the light in.
Unfuk yourself.