Every day now, I see the little things happen.

Someone dropped a book. That door wasn't opened for that person. The pencil they needed for their test seemed to have disappeared entirely and nobody is there to give it to them.

Every day now, I see the apathy happen.

We see someone drop their books. We go through the door but don't hold it open. We have an extra pencil but we don't feel like digging it out of our pocket.

Every day now, I see the build-up happen.

As they pick up their books, the time for them to get to class ticks down. The person behind us, who just got shots in their arm from the doctor, struggles to open the door with weakened limbs. He now must take the test in pen, unable to erase mistakes.

Every day now, I see the pain happen.

Another tardy. Another sharp pain. Another failed test. More head-shaking from our elders.

And what happens when, every day, the apathy happens, builds up, and causes pain in ways we don't see? What of the people in other countries, where a little thing like a bottle of water can save a life? 5 dollars to a homeless person to keep them alive?

No matter who you are, you deserve it as a human being.

Apathy drives pain, sometimes even more than outright violence.

Ignoring someone hurts them on a deep level that we cannot fix at times.

People deserve treatments all the same. A white man, a black woman, a mexican transgender, an asian muslim, a french christian, an italian jew. Labels are what they are, and labels are what they will be for the rest of their life.

A label is a little thing, really.

Every day, I see the little labels happen.

Every day, I see the apathy make those labels.

Every day, I see the labels build up.

Every day, the labels cause pain.

If only.

If only I could go in with a big eraser and scrub away the titles we get. Hurtful names, stereotypes, racial slurs, sexuality slang terms.

Is that how we should be?

I want to be remembered not by my skin color, nor my gender, nor my hobbies, nor my goals or dreams, sexuality or lack thereof, or the simple fact that I am another person, another person in a sea of faces and so I don't deserve anything more than a label.

I want to be remembered every day for what I do.

Every day, I change the little things.

I pick up the books for the klutzy guy. I open the door for that girl who's always going to the doctor. The forgetful kid who keeps forgetting his own pencil, well, I don't quite mind if he loses mine either.

Every day, I build up the light in their day.

Every day, I pull away the apathy.

Every day, I make the pain go away.

 

Because humans are living people.

And people deserve better.