In you, I saw something rare.

In you, I saw something that no one had ever taken the time to notice, let alone cherish.

In you, I saw something inherently good. Something pure. Not innocent, no, because it’s not as though you’ve gone through life unscathed. Quite the opposite, actually. You are good, pure, true, and soft in spite of all that life has thrown at you. You’ve refused to become hardened, corrupted by, or beaten and worn down by the things you didn’t deserve.

You’ve gone and done this seemingly impossible thing of not becoming jaded or cynical; instead you remain perpetually hopeful about—even thankful for—your circumstances. You’ve grown accustomed to being discounted for your quietness, which has been mistaken for smallness.

But it’s precisely in that unshakable stillness, in that firm resolution, that your strength lies. It’s there that your truth, your actual vastness, can be found. In plain sight for all to see.

But you are not like much of this world. You operate on a different wavelength than the masses. So while reflexively I want to apologize for how you’ve often been an oversight and carelessly overlooked thus far, perhaps it’s not the most appropriate response (and most likely, you wouldn’t want it anyway). After all, the fact that others have been too blind, too distracted, and too loud to notice your presence is only a testament to how they’ve been conditioned to notice only that which is ordinary. And you are anything but.

You, my love, are extraordinary.

So maybe all I need to do is remind you that you are different for a reason. There is a purpose to your otherness. And let me assure you, while you feel like an anomaly, you are not alone. Your own kind exists, and you will stand out to the like-minded ones.

Meanwhile, rest in this: in a frequently dark world filled with dim souls, you are a light that, when fully matured, will someday be too damn bright for anyone to ignore.