To know my flaws but not my heart creates room for judgment. Most days, I sit in the jungle battling my imperfections. I’ve been face-to-face with tigers, watched fear fill my heart, and laid in a flood from all the tears I was crying. You see only my mistakes because what is my growth to you? You have no clue where I’ve come from or where I’m going, yet you judge me for who I currently am. You laugh when I fall without the knowledge that for so long, I’ve been stepping over snakes. For so long I had to cope with the venom that sat in my lace, but you find joy in criticizing just one part of my race. Again, what is my growth to you? I love the very things you pick apart because my true identity isn’t what you see, but the things that flow from within my heart. The jungle of imperfections is a place we all go, but at the root of our scars is endless room for us to grow.
Cierra Everett Is a 4th Year Psychology Major (NABJ’s Programs Coordinator)