I hope you’re the kind of person who sees the good in humans. The kind of person who realizes that not everyone has the same story, but everyone has a story worth listening to and a story worth telling. The kind of person who asks the question, “Are you okay?” and then stays around long enough to hear the answer. The kind of human who doesn’t paint everyone with the same brushstroke, for you know that we are all more than one thing.
I hope you are the kind of person who sees potential when others lean into giving up. The kind of person who sees magic in the mundane or ordinary, the kind of person who sees a masterpiece when others see a blank canvas. I hope when others tell you that it’s not possible, you begin to list a million reasons why it is, and you begin to show them the myriad of possibilities that lie beneath their fingertips, within their grasp.
I hope you are the kind of person who listens more than they speak. The kind of human that recognizes when someone cries or yells, or screams, or shouts, or speaks in whispers that they themselves are too afraid to hear, it’s often because they often need a pair of ears that will hear their words and a heart that will try to hug their own. I hope you are the person who everyone wants to tell their secrets to, the one they come to for advice and guidance and in times of failure and success, for they know that you will drink in their words before you offer up any of your own. They know that around you, they are not only seen but heard, too.
But above all else, I hope you are the kind of person who builds with love. I hope you let love be the root of your words, actions, and how you navigate your place in this world. I hope you let love be the thing you lead with and the thing you hold onto in your darkest days.
Above all else, I hope love is the thing that guides you and lifts you, and that you share with each person that you come across.