Do you know what it's like to live inside of a shell?
No you don't.
You all have the capability to make your body do what you want it to do, to communicate with other people on their level, to fit in with every other kid in the world. But I don't. It's funny... My mind is really sharp, actually... I mean, I love the same stuff the other boys do – football, video games, Terrance and Phillip. And I want to reach out and tell them that, inside, I'm really just like them, but it's hard. I look in the mirror and see that I have two expressions. Insanely happy, or sad. That's it... I can't make my face do anything in between, so I can't even show them that there's someone inside that just wants to be treated like the others. When I talk, it's hard to say anything other than my name.
One day, a new kid joined scouts in South Park. His name was Jimmy. I hated him at first, because he could talk, and walk, and smile and laugh and roll his eyes and make expressions with his face and hands and everyone loved him.
But it was because of him that the others started to realize that there was more to me than just the mentally deficient wheelchair-bound prop that they all thought I was. They realized I could feel anger. They started looking at me differently. They didn't pity me... All because of Jimmy, they opened up to me. And I realized that the only reason they thought I was so stupid before is because that's the way I acted, because I didn't expect them to even try to understand.
Jimmy took the time to learn to understand me. Even just saying my name, he could read further into it. He became not only my translator, but my best friend. And you know? I think I'm kind of like a hermit crab, cuz I'm kinda stuck in my shell, but I can come out sometimes and show everyone who I really am. It's weird looking back now and remembering how I felt – that the other kids wouldn't just treat me like one of the guys. They do. And they don't even mind helping me sometimes when they know there's just certain things I can't do on my own. Like when I become the super hero Iron Maiden, they all help me get into my costume, because they want me with them. It's not a chore.
I'm writing to you because I see you doing the same thing I did. You're withdrawing, because you don't think they'll understand. But they will if you give them a chance. Just because you're different doesn't make you less of a person, and I hope that you'll embrace that.
With love,
Tim