You weren't born to blend in

Remember the first time someone's face changed when they looked at you?
That slight flinch. The pause before they spoke. The way they said "interesting" when they meant "wrong."
Maybe it was your skin. Your accent. Your love. Maybe it was your protest sign. Your rainbow pin. Your hair. Your truth.
Remember how you learned to read rooms before entering them? How you practiced being smaller in mirrors? How you memorized which parts of yourself to leave at home? Which language to speak? Which hand to hold? 
It was never said directly. It was in questions: 
"Where are you really from?" 
"But what about normal families?" 
"Why make everything political?" 
"Can't you just be grateful?" 
"Don't you think you're being too sensitive?"

As if existence were a debate. As if love needed approval. As if fighting for tomorrow was too much to ask. 

They wanted us quiet about the laws they're passing. Silent about the rights they're taking. Polite about the future they're stealing.

This campaign is for every person who's been told they don't belong here.
To every person who has been told to go back to where they came from.
To everyone who has been called a threat for simply existing.
To those who check the news each morning to see if they still have rights.
To everyone who's been told their love is just a phase.
To those who carry their documents everywhere to prove they belong.
To every person who's been told they are too loud, too much, too sensitive, too brave, too old, too young, too different. 

This campaign is a love letter to every face that didn't fit in. 

This is for the brush strokes that make no sense.
For the colors that clash.
For the face that makes people uncomfortable, because it’s free.

The face you weren’t supposed to show… is the most important one of all.

noelle
You weren't born to blend in.