What does it mean to be an advocate?
What does it mean
To be
An advocate?
It means using all my energy and effort
To fight for something so fiercely
It scares me sometimes
It means
I work and I work and I work
Hoping and praying for an outcome
I may never get to see
It means that sometimes I ask myself:
Why is this the burden I inherit?
Why is this the price I pay
To inhabit a body like mine?
Why must being different
Always come at a cost?
I once believed I made a choice
A choice to speak up for myself and for others
A choice to educate, a choice to empower
A choice
To engage in this constant battle
But now I wonder
Did I choose?
If I think back to when it all began
When I realized
My words are powerful
My opinions are valuable
My ideas are indispensable
And I realized
My voice needs to be heard
My struggle needs to be shared
To create change
Is it possible that I also realized
I needed to do this to survive?
But now I am part of something bigger
I speak up
For those who are silenced
I rise up
For those who are beaten down
If you cannot fight for yourself
I will fight for you
And so
When all is said and all is done
I know
I must continue on my way
And I will
I promise
I’m just so tired
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