In New York City there’s a place where we remember those who died from terroristic murder suicide. There is where my favorite quote resides on a wall with blue tiles form the floors of the fallen towers whose doors were open to the world. 

It states, “No day shall erase you from the memory of time,” but all this crime the world is surrounded by rips the beauty right as we are reaching for it and all the cruelty and pain from the kids you’ve known since the first grade are the reason kids are putting bullets in their brains, but why?

Why do the lies and ignorant rhymes of the kids we’ve been surrounded by lead us to becoming someone we’re not?

Why do mom’s and dad’s hit and belittle their little ones then tell them they love them but keep adding bruises to the skin of their kin who have loved them since day one?

Why is it that the people who in their day have never known suicidal rage can look you in the face and say “kill yourself” as if it were a game?

Why is it that the people who have never felt the relief of a blade are the ones that say, “Horizontal for attention, vertical for results”?

You wonder why when you watch your pregnant teacher cry because they told her she was rude when all she wanted to do was give her students awards because she sees them as extraordinary, you wonder why, why are people so cruel?

As the kids always say “no pain no gain” but listen to the words I’m about to say and you’ll see that the person you’re striving to be will forever be you.

To those of you who were beaten black and blue by the kids or the parents who have always teased you, to those of you who have watched blood seep through your clothes because of a fresh cut, to those of you who go home to parents who don’t seem to care if you’re alive because they are too busy yelling to hear your cries, to those of you who getting a C would be the end of the world, to those of you who take on school and a job and then come home to take care of kids and clean the house and do your homework because your parents are so far gone they don’t even know they are on Earth, to those of you who just want to get away no matter what it takes, to those of you who feel like you will never be good enough.

You are an inspiration. You are a reminder to the rest of us that we can look adversity in the face even on the worst days and laugh because we are stronger than the bullies, we are stronger than the words, we are stronger than the fists that hit us, we are stronger than the restless nights, we are stronger than all the rhymes and the lies, we are stronger than all the pain and there is your gain, YOU ARE AN INSPIRATION.

We are Eminem, who made it farther than 8 mile, who is my idle. Eminem who wrote beautiful pain and as it states, “ And it is as though you feel you’ve died because you’ve been killed on the inside, but yet you’re still alive, which means you must survive.”

We are Bayard Rustin who was a leader of civil rights but his success is hidden from sight because they said gay men didn’t have any rights. Bayard Rustin who never quit even though they tried to silence him and shame his pride in who he was. Even though your successes may not be seen by the many, the great things you do will still inspire others to be great. 

We are Amazing Grace that can get an entire congregation to stand saying “Amen!” Amazing Grace that fills their souls and makes them feel bold and brave just like you can do for others in everything you do and everything you say.

We are the light that shines brighter than all the darkness we are surrounded by, we give strength to those who don't have the will to continue the fight. 

We are the One World Trade Center standing tall for the whole world to see that it will never fall just like us. “NO DAY SHALL ERASE YOU FROM THE MEMORY OF TIME” because we are the ones who will succeed and we are the ones who free ourselves from those who try to break us down and we will stand tall for WE ARE AN INSPIRATION to them all. So pick up that mic and stand up for what is right because you are the voice of the voiceless. Stand tall for all the times they made you feel small and if someone tries to push you down stand your ground and push back because this isn’t the playground where they could hound you whenever they wanted. You can change this world we live in and you are good enough! Cause baby you’re worth it uh huh you’re worth it!

You are and will always be, an inspiration to me!