Are you like me?

To dreamers. To builders. To visionaries.

If you are like me, you were raised to survive more than to thrive. To be polite more than to love. To do what the majority found acceptable. To be like all.

If you are like me, at some point you realized that those paradigms of good and bad from your childhood are subjective to the time you were raised in; most of them are only supported within one-two generations and one-to-few communities. You found that nothing is absolute, and absolutely everything needs a remark “to the best of our knowledge”. You learned that others’ rights and opinions are Not more valuable than yours because they are older, smarter, prettier, richer, whiter, or whatever definition of success one may use. You also learned that any rights may be taken from you if not defended. You observed that unhappy people are limited in what they are able to give, and misery is truly unlimited in what it’s capable of consuming.

You realized you have a choice. You became more aware. Your actions became more intentional. Your decisions became more conscious of the consequences, and connections with others. You started understanding the dynamic, and patterns in relationships. The past started making sense. You visited dark memories, and dark emotions. You started trusting yourself more.

If you are like me, it took you longer than you imagined. If you are like me, you could never imagine anything like this. Nobody told you, and even if they did you couldn’t possibly believe it.

If you are like me, it came with the price — you no longer could relate to the ones who never took that road themselves. Friends, family members, coworkers you could understand, but couldn’t help. People with new fences and old fears. People fighting for power, appreciation, rewards, or sometimes — not fighting for anything at all, not even for themselves.

Your voice became stronger, but your path became lonelier. If you are lucky, you have a few friends who can relate to your inner conflict, the dreamers you share your true self with. Once in a while you meet a stranger not afraid to share his story. Sometimes the stranger becomes your best friend. Often you feel like an outsider.

If you are like me, you always wonder. You don’t look for anything in particular, you are simply curious. You look at the world with eyes wide open, like a sponge, ready to absorb every drop of knowledge, skill, beauty. Your freedom — the freedom to connect, to be honest, to not hide — is the ultimate right you will never give up.

If you are anything like me, it gets pretty scary and deeply lonely from time to time. When that happens, know — I’m just like you.

“For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.” ― Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book