I am a warrior.

I am not a mental illness.

 

The labels that I check

on documents

do not define me.

 

I am capable.

I am not handicapped.

 

Do not discredit me

because I don’t function

the same.

 

I am alive.

I am not deadened

by my past.

 

My personal wars

give me strength

and made me strive to be

who I am today.

 

I do take medicine.

I can live without it,

but I need it to be

the best me

I can be.

 

I am a human.

I am not a monster.

 

Words hurt,

and I’m a counter.

 

Think before you speak,

or maybe don’t.

Regardless,

what you say,

I won’t.

 

Your words made me brave.

I’m not going to cave.

 

I am me,

not some twisted fantasy.

I am me,

not a statistic

in a magazine.

I am perfectly

imperfect

me.