The Girl With Arthritis

One of my friends has trouble with speaking. When she was very little, her parents discovered she had hearing difficulties. Rather than trying a hearing aid, which had more promise of helping her hear, they opted for letting the child walk around unble to hear. The reason for this was not that they couldn't get my friend an aid, it's that their child would look different from others. They denied the child the right to hear properly (which is crucial in developing speech) for vanity. You can only imagine how hard it is for her now. I always wondered what would have happened if my parents tried to hide my disability. I bet they would make me wear trousers and long dresses all the time so no one could see my knees. And I probably would have worse arthritis because it would be ignored. That is, if I would be let out of the house at all due to my limp. The world is a cruel place. For some people, home is an understanding sanctuary. For others, it's where the cruelty begins u...

Dear World, I don't know why we hide things that aren't perfect. Humans are not perfect and that is not to be ashamed of. People hide their natural hair, skin, interests, and just a lot of things that make humans so great. We also try to hide things that are nearly impossible to hide. I was pondering this the other night and realised how many things I try to hide away. So today, I'd just like to make public the biggest thing I try and hide and I do this because I'm very tired of my attempts to hide away. The number one thing I try to hide is my voice.  I have a hard time talking to people my age. I think a lot of them think I'm kind of dumb, so I get nervous. Sometimes I stutter or don't say things correctly, but other times I'm just so nervous of judgement that I won't talk at all. This isn't without reason: In the past, even just a few days ago, I've had people laugh when I speak. I don't know why, but they do and I hate it. I don...