Breathe out, and begin.

This, this is for you.

This is for the mousy brown haired girl who died it pink, hoping maybe her mother would notice. This is for the wedding planner who never got a wedding of her own. This is for the girl who walks out of the room during the slow dance and the boy who watches her go.

This is for the girl whose jeans are too loose. This is for the man who shot for the moon and fell into the dark abyss instead. This is for the little boy who is so, so sick of having his head under the pillow. So sick of hearing the fights.

It’s monotonous.

This is for the bullet that never wanted to hurt anybody and for the prima ballerina who never asked for the spotlight. This is for the adults that are scared of the dark. This is for the lunch ladies and the world-renowned surgeons who never lived up to their potential. This is for all the miscarriages.

This is for those trapped inside their heads. Stop analyzing.

This is for the pilot who’s afraid of heights and for all the insomniacs. This is for the underdogs- the boy with the brother who’s the star quarterback, the girl with the prettier twin sister.

This is for the unseen and the unheard and the unsaid.

This is for those with handkerchiefs over their mouths and nooses around their necks.

Speak.

This is for the criticizers. This is for those who ask, “God? Are you there?” This is for the weary and the dreamers and the weary dreamers. This is for the disillusioned and the brokenhearted. The failures and the inadequates. This is for the cast aways and the unfortunate and the overwhelmed and the fools and the shipwrecked and the ruined. This is for they who are grasping at last straws. This is for the future you, just around the bend, and this is for me.

Speak. Someone will hear you. You are not alone. Turn on the microphone, or maybe just stop the murmuring inside your head.

STOP WHISPERING. Stop talking to only yourself.

Come out from under the tides and grab the hand that’s being held out to you. It is for you, after all.

Wake up.    Take a deep breath.    And speak.

We’re all listening so let inspiration bleed out of your every word. Let the elation gather in the air around your face like frosty breath. Let us see it. Let us feel it. Let us wave our hands through it, just so we can be sure it’s real. Because we need fresh air.

We need unfamiliar air.