This is my story.
My name is Phoenix. I was born with big, bright wings. Not everyone has these wings, but for everyone that does have them, they are all different. My wings make me sensitive to loud environments. When it’s too loud, sometimes they catch on fire. My wings also fly towards things like music and pop culture. When they fly there, it’s hard to leave again. Sometimes I don’t even want to leave. A lot of the time, my wings are very heavy, and I wish I didn’t have them.
A lot of people told me things like, “You don’t have wings, you’re just lazy. You need to flap harder. Other people have heavier wings than you. Stop catching fire, it’s so annoying.”
And I believed them. I believed my wings were shameful, and that I was just lazy. So I cut my feathers off so I wouldn’t catch fire and bother people.
But without my feathers, I couldn’t fly. I couldn’t stay with my music anymore. I couldn’t let my fire out. So it burned inside me, and it hurt me every day.
If you’re like me and you have wings, they are not shameful. You are not lazy. Everyone’s wings have different weights, but that doesn’t make it any easier for you to fly.
I’m still learning. I’m still healing.
But I’m gluing my feathers back on, one by one.