You Carry the Place Where You Belong

The hallways feel long tonight, and the noise of the day leaves a ringing silence in your ears. You walk through crowds where everyone seems to have a seat at a table you were never invited to join.

The mask you wore since first period is heavy now, and taking it off feels dangerous when there is no one who knows the face underneath. But listen — the light does not require a crowd to be real.

It does not need a locker with your name on it or a group that claims you. There is light within a person of light, and it lights up the whole world even when you are standing completely alone.

Do not weep and do not be irresolute, for grace is entirely with you right now, protecting you in this quiet room. You are not waiting to belong somewhere else; you are carrying the place where you belong inside your own chest.

The exile you feel is not a sign that you are lost; it is the proof that you are too wide for the small boxes they built.