I applaud

I applaud all the men and the women who pushed the suicide attempt away when it was calling them. One day at the time, they managed to reach today. One foot in front of the other, they kept walking. Even if their feet were hurting, they moved forward. Even if the wind was blowing against them, they moved forward. Even if it was raining cats and dogs, they moved forward. There was some times when they sat on the floor and almost never get back up. Yet, they did and they kept going. So, I applaud them.

I also applaud the men who, despite the prejudices, show himself as he is. He isn’t the strongest, nor the tallest, yet he moves mountains and touch the clouds. He survived the pressure put on his shoulders by his father and made his mother proud. He doesn’t degrades women, he admires them. It doesn’t make him a disgrace. he stays a man. Even if he dances and play with dolls. He is a man. Even if everyone points at his differences, he showed with no shame that he was more feminine than others. He cries from time to time, as much as he smiles, screams and panics. He isn’t afraid to show emotions, nor who he is. And for that, I applaud him.

I don’t forget to greet the woman who carries the child of a pig. A disgusting raper who only thinks about his crotch. She suffered like never and yet, she is obligated to keep this child bevause her parents told her avorting is murder. Today, she is raising a son, a son who’ll become a man. This woman survived rape and the trauma of a undesired pregnancy. She fought for her rights and for the girls and women who’ll follow her steps. yet when she files a complaint, she’s still being asked what she was wearing that night. It was already a lost battle, but she tried to make justice. For all her tries, I applaud, her and her son.

It would be terrible to no applaud the boy who, when he looks at his reflection, only sees scars. Hits and cuts inflicted by the one he loved. It’s been months since he left, but the hate is still there. He can’t stop counting the imperfections on his body. Too many times he was told that he was repulsing, disgusting and horrible to look at. His belly is too big, his arms too skinny, his thighs too fat, his nose too long, his eyes too small and too many more. After hearing comments after comments, he started to believe them. The bruises and the scars aren’t helping. In his eyes, he is ugly. In his opinion, there was only one thing to do. He stopped eating, or threw up whatever reached his stomach. it helped, but it’s like alcool. It calms you for a while but when it comes back, it’s like being hit by a train. He still hates his looks, but slowly, he learns how to love himself. It’s not easy but he manages to do it. Today, for the first time, despite all the imperfections he saw, he told himself he wasn’t that bad. That his stomach wasn’t as big, That his arms weren’t as terrible. That his thighs weren’t as fast as he thought, that his nose was pretty in his way and that his eyes were just the right size. For the first time that this boy liked himself, at least a little, I applaud him.

I could keep going on for hours, clap for each small success, each challenge, each fight, but my time is limited. I’ll be content by just these few examples, but believe me, I will not forget the boy who’s being pushed in the school’s hallways. I will not forget the girl who’s terrified of crowds, and who shakes when comes the time to present in front of the whole class. I will not forget the child who hears his parents arguing every night when they think he’s asleep. I will not forget all of these people who have to bear life and endure their past. For every challenge overcome, I applaud you. You, him, her and everybody here, and elsewhere. Life is far from easy, the problem of one is the crime of the other. So for having held on until, I applaud you and I’ll keep on applauding till the day I die.

“We often forget to applaud those who are living while most of them had to survive first”

Nelly