You deserve love.
You deserve grace and humanity.
You deserve safety.
You deserve comfort.
You deserve a chance.
A chance to live
A chance to explore
A chance to grow
A chance to be happy
A chance to exist.
You deserve better.
You deserve to not be failed by your peers, your family, the government, society and the world.
You deserve to see 36, 66, 96.
You deserve relationships and encounters outside of manipulation and violence.
You deserve to love yourself.
You deserve to meet and be surrounded by wholesome people
People not measuring your worth or humanity with severely colonized beliefs and standards.
You deserve to be on a list,
Not of one mourning you, but of one celebrating your achievements.
You deserve to be credited for your work
You deserve reparations and inclusive policy.
You deserve liberation.
You deserve freedom.
You deserve the world,
And I can only hope by next time this year,
That you’ve gotten at least some of these things.
You deserve all that your heart desires.
You deserve.
To Liberty and Beyond.
Nahje Royster is a fourth-year student majoring in women’s and gender studies and minoring in African American studies. NR852569@wcupa.edu