Here’s to The Girls And Boys

By Erin Deborah 

Here’s to the girls and boys who never got a card on Valentine’s Day,

Unless it was from their mum or dad.

To the ones who didn’t receive flowers on any day other than their birthday, 

And even then only once.

To the girls who never felt pretty, whose features were deemed ‘unique’ and ‘interesting’,

rather than what they really wanted to hear - ‘beautiful’.

To the boys who were told to not to cry, not to feel, not to love,

And that there was a way they had to be to be a real man.

To the ones who did all their own healing, who cried alone, clutching at the straws of who they were.

To those who didn’t always feel like they had someone who really understood them, who chose them above someone else - and not out of obligation.

To all the girls and boys who felt too big or too small to be beautiful, who stopped eating or slaved away in the gym just to feel lovable.

To the girls and the boys who know somebody loves them, but don’t always know how to trust it.

To trust that it won’t go away overnight, won’t suddenly break the delicate balance they’ve tried so hard to curate.

To the girls and the boys that had to learn to love themselves, rather than be born with a knowledge of their beauty inside and out.

Trust me, it gets better.