​Sometimes, when the world holds you down for a while, you forget how beautiful people are.

I saw so many people today, and they reminded me.

I saw someone with piercings, a hooded tank top, and cropped, blue hair. And I thought, this person is beautiful.

I saw three men in business wear, one with a wide green tie, one with his sleeves rolled to the elbow, one with his top button popped open. And I thought, these men are beautiful.

I saw a girl in a hijab the colour of a peach, her eye-liner sharper than a knife, her contour better than anything I’d ever seen. And I thought, this girl is beautiful.

The hope, the empowerment, the subtlety of a smile – these things awakened in me a light, shining on all the wonderful things around me.

And it doesn’t matter if you don’t wear crop tops and high-waisted shorts, or if you do.

And it doesn’t matter if you paint yourself with makeup everyday, sometimes, or never.

And it doesn’t matter if your clothes are made for your gender, or if they’re not.

You exist in a world that tries to hold you down. You shine in the darkness of misplaced hope, of disappointment and frustration. You live a life only you could lead, drawn to things only you can understand.

You, friend, are beautiful.