Fat
Ugly
Gay
Retard

Words heard
Words felt

Things the mirror reflects back,
aren't always the truth.

You see her walk through the hallway
and you judge her because she's different.
She's considered obese.

Obese in a society that thinks starvation on the cover of a magazine is beauty.

Obese in a society where anorexia is pretty.

You see him in the parking lot after school
and you look away because you can't bear to be near the gay kid.

Your friends tease him behind his back,
but if you knew what he was feeling,
teasing made him try to take his life.

She walks into school late one day
and your friends laugh because she talks 'funny.'
She was born with down system.
Everyone calls her 'retarded' behind her back,
but she knows.
She goes home every day and cries about it.
Her parents are heartbroken that people would be so cruel,
but she doesn't want them to make a fuss.

Beautiful
Proud
Smart

Words never thought
Words that seem cold

She spends hours each week trying to make herself look like the models in the magazines.
No one ever tells her she's beautiful.
No one ever seems to care enough to make her feel important.

He spends his weekends crying,
wishing for school to end.
He has two years left,
but he wants it to be over.
No one ever tells him to be proud of who he is,
because they all want him to hide it.
They feel uncomfortable while he's around,
so they don't care.

She spends each night and weekend with her family,
raising awareness for her syndrome.
No one at school seems to care that she is making a difference,
that she came up with the idea for the charity.

Words are powerful.
Use them as a tool for love, not hate.