Chatterbox: Down to Earth

~Hi, lovelies! it's Hope the Dove here. I missed posting all the good ~positivity~ that I could. I felt a little bit better every time I realized that I had done (even just a little!) something for someone else. It matters to me that you all know that you matter.

What I want to say is thank you. Thank you for being such wonderful people. Thank you for introducing so many new things to me, so much beautiful writing and new ideas and new goals for myself. Thank you for changing my writing for the better and thank you for showing me the diversity my characters lacked. Thank you for giving me a place I felt safe and honest. Thank you for being such kind, creative, polite friends I always know I can rely on.

Admins, thank you for keeping all of us safe. Thank you for making this amazing website somewhere my parents and I can both trust. Thank you for being so kind, hard-working and patient. Thank you for caring about us and reading all that we say (which must get tedious sometimes!). Thank you for all that you do.

I owe it to you all to try and brighten someone's day, or speak the words someone wants (or needs) to hear. I want to give a little something to you all, because even if it doesn't do anything at all, I want to feel like I'm doing something for someone else. You guys have all shaped me into a better writer and a better person; I would be honored to help you all any way I can. <3

So... what would I like to say? As I recently wrote in a poem, "how could our lives mean something less / my question goes unanswered but i don't stop trying to ask". You see, there's something I think is often confused: people think that they "matter" if they do something important or lasting. But really, your life being important is not something you achieve. You don't have to do something amazing and renound to matter, or for your life to have meaning. It already does. It always will. All people are important.

The thing is, everyone, life is hard. For everybody. It's not easy to live, but we still go ahead and do it, because it's worth the diffuclty of life to be alive. We're not perfect. Nobody is. It's hard to remember about other people, more often times harder to remember about ourselves. It's only human to mess up. Don't stop when you make mistakes, and try to be forgiving when other people do. You've got this, everyone. I believe in you.

If this message doesn't resonate with you much, that's okay. I don't expect to change your whole mindset. I just want to say, when adults, parents and teachers say stuff like this, they're not purposefully lying to you. Why would they? No-one has a real reason to spew a verse about a positive message they don't really believe. People often shrug it off, or not really pay attention. (And I'm not accusing anyone of this!) But truly, no-one is trying to lie to you about this. I promise.

~Love you all! <3 -Hope