Here I stand.

At the corner of the street.

In the pouring rain.

They drop like shards of glass, cutting and marring my soul. I stood thinking back on all the times they asked if I was okay. I should be, shouldn't I? It’s not like I was ignored or pushed to the side. Not like I was left to fend for myself when they came back. They always come back.

Belittling me.

Yelling at me.

Screaming at me.

Yet, my friends... my, oh so wonderful, friends always come to pick up the mess. At first, I didn't see it but now I do. I see them through diamond eyes. They stood way in the back laughing, taunting me from afar. My eyes miss nothing now. They pity me afterwards. They pity me for what happened. I do not, however, pity me. I do not want the pity. I push them away. I no longer hid. No longer bowed down.

As a wise man once said, "no matter how much the wind howls, the mountain cannot bow."

I stood tall against my enemies. My diamond eyes miss nothing, and through the crowd, I have found the ones who stood far away, unable to truly help a comrade. They were attacked as well. Belittled, yelled and screamed at. They were as scared as I once was.

Instead, I burst through the crowd, determined to help them. We were once weak, but no more. My voice was heard throughout the campus, firm and commanding. I was smaller than most but my soul was stronger. My heart bigger. My brain wiser.

I became a demon to most and an angel to some. So, here I stand, in the pouring rain once again. Rain that was like shards of glass. It cut through me right to my soul that slumbered deep within me. I stood there wondering why?

Why do they do it?

But most importantly… why am I simply standing here again?