Tell us about a time when you felt out of place.
It was as if were a lone star in a sky of swirling galaxies. Surrounded by peers who shared stories of triumph, I felt like a forgotten chapter in a book no one cared to read. The laughter echoed like distant thunder, while I stood in silence, a tree rooted in a barren field, longing for the rain of connection but receiving only the harsh winds of indifference.
The moral dilemma tugged at my conscience like I string pulled taut. When asked to compromise my values for the sake of acceptance, I teetered on the edge of a precipice, caught between the familiar warmth of belonging and the chilling reality of betraying my true self. To conform felt like donning a mask, hiding the vibrant colors of my identity beneath a cloak of conformity, and I wrestled with the fear of being cast out like a wilted flower in a bouquet of bright blooms.
In that moment, the feeling of being an outsider stung; I was a solitary bird in a flock, my cries unheard. Thus, choosing authenticity over acceptance became my guiding light, illuminating the path back to where I belonged- within my own heart.
CHRISTIAN HOPE 