To The Ones Who Feel Like They’re Always ‘Too Much’

To the ones who grew up never really fitting in, never following the rules, never wanting what everyone else was doing and never really knowing how to tame themselves, their voice or their spirit.

You were always told to settle, to study harder so you can catch up with your friends, to work harder so you can get that promotion, to just be a little less impulsive and more composed, to stop falling head over heels and you were always told to be someone you’re not.

You’re the ones people always want to fix, change or avoid altogether. You’re the ones people don’t understand and they don’t even want to try. You’re the game changers. The rule breakers. The ones who won’t live a life unless it’s passionate, adventurous, meaningful and maybe a little reckless.

You’re the ones who feel like a minority, you’re the ones who don’t want to conform, you don’t want a 9-5 job, you don’t want deadlines and timelines, you don’t want control or authority. You want freedom. You want more time to explore, to dream, to travel and fall in love.

You’re the ones who don’t always look good ‘on paper’ because you’re out there chasing happiness. You’re out there trying to write your own story. You’re out there choosing life.

I know that sometimes it feels like you should change so you can make your life easier, so you can buy that car or that house and start a family. So you can avoid criticism and play it safe instead of questioning yourself every time the world lets you down. So you can fit in instead of feeling like the black sheep all the time.

And even though it seems like the world doesn’t want you, it still needs you.

The world needs your ferocity when everyone else is too complacent. It needs your compassion about the things that matter when everyone else is so indifferent. It needs your voice when everyone else is silent about injustice. It needs your heart when everyone is being selfish and cruel.

Because at the end of the day it’s better to be too much than too little. It’s better to fight and lose than not fight at all. It’s better to say it all than bite your tongue. It’s better to love with all your heart than love with pieces of it. It’s better to be too emotional than too cold.

And let me tell you that you will always be enough for the ones who are just as wild, just as passionate, just as stubborn. You will always be enough for the ones who choose to live and the ones that know how to love.

Rania Naim is a poet and author of the new book All The Words I Should Have Said, available here.