"I'm only human."

The phrase still haunts me sometimes. Someone I loved, someone I trusted, betrayed me, beat my self-confidence up until it was just a shred of what it had ever been, and left me broken.

Her excuse, almost a year later:

"I'm only human."

Yes. You are human. You are a human being. You are as valuable as any other person.

You are as special as any other being blessed to live on this planet.

But being human is no excuse. Not some apology you can throw at someone hurt, whenever it seems convenient.

If any, it is a burden.

Being human means being there for others. Being human means confronting fears, rather than focusing on other's. Being human means correcting mistakes.

Being human means treating those you love with genuine respect.

People do not always realize what words are able to do. How only a few venomous sentences can plant poison in someone's heart, and stay there until it grows into a permanent darkness.

Actions are just actions. Wounds heal. Still, we do not underestimate them. That's because physical things leave scars. They mark.

Words scar as well. Screaming destroys trust. A sentence of three words can break a seemingly eternal bond and twist in something dark.

Never underestimate words.

They are dangerous.

And we, humans, hold the power over them.

It is up to you how to use that.

These words were the first I ever wrote. I was twelve.

I didn't stop writing. I never underestimated words.

I learned a language that was spoken by more people. I went to see the world. I saw places where the beautiful culture was years ahead of itself, and places where people looked away to ignore other's misery, almost next to each other.

I still believe in those words I wrote years ago. My girlfriend told me, that after all the things I've seen, I should cut humankind some slack. That sometimes people try to be the best they can be, but it just doesn't always work out that way.

I agree with her, and at the same time I do not. Yes, we live in a world where our choices are influenced by other's. Sometimes being kind and good isn't enough. Our decisions are made for us. We lead ourselves to a path we do not want to walk on.

We're only human in a world with too many other humans.

But you are something more than just human. You are yourself. And no matter how cliché that may sound, it is a truth some cannot face.

Start there. By yourself. Don't look at the others. Don't look how popular, failed, happy or dejected they are. Take a look at who you are. Who you want to be.

And after that start being there for others. Make sure they can know that they are not alone. Love them. Don't let go of them.

Make yourself proud to be human.

~Leméetje~