I Matter. You Matter. We Matter. All.

Lately, I haven't been able to sleep, virtually at all. A good mattress, a great pillow, a dark room, and a thousand sheep, are no match for a heavy heart and a mind in such a state of unrest.

State of unrest. There is so much unrest right now. It's not my place to speak on something I haven't lived. I can recognize, empathize, and see the pain of the black community -- the injustices, the brutality, the history -- but ultimately I will never be able to fully and completely understand. I'm not black.

Just like a man will never completely understand why a catcall makes me see red, or why "women in the kitchen" jokes make me want to explode. They aren't women.

And just like a straight person will never be able to wrap their head around what it feels like to be emotionally and physically attracted to someone of the same sex. They're not gay.

Although, even though we might not be able to walk a mile in someone else's shoes, does that mean we can't acknowledge each other and let each other know that THEIR PAIN MATTERS? It's in the dismissal -- that's what divides us.

If a group of people sit in a room, and one person starts to talk over the others, the next person has to talk even louder. Eventually, this snowballs into a yelling competition, in order to be heard. But does the loudest voice win? Not necessarily. The louder voices will lose their voice as time progresses, because vocal cords are muscles that have their limit, like anything does.

Who are we to think our story is more important than the next person? Even better, who are we to think that our voice, isn't worthy of being heard at all?

The truth is always loaded, always controversial, but must be heard.

We all have our own truth, our own cross to bear, but no matter your gender, orientation, skin color, or what you believe -- know that your life, your pain, your joy, your voice, is immensely important, regardless of all the yellers.

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"I MATTER. YOU MATTER. WE MATTER. ALL."