not alone.

Lately, it has come to my attention how similar we all are. I mean, people disagree on a lot of different things. Family, relationships, beliefs, careers, education, and so on… but at the same time, we are all so alike. Down to the little things in life that no one really thinks about. The way we all turn the music down to “see” better while driving. Lose our sunglasses on our heads. Race raindrops on the car window. Check behind a shower curtain to make sure a serial killer isn’t there.

Sure, these are little things, but little things we didn’t know anyone else did…. Until someone brought it up. Someone took a step to share a story, someone took the time to share their perspective.

And then, slowly but surely, we all realized a large majority of us do the exact same things.

Yet, this doesn’t just apply to the little things in life. This doesn’t just apply to the way we all set a couple of alarms in the morning just to sleep in, or the way we pretend to be in a music video when a sad song comes on. This applies to the struggles we are all going through, the hardships we have faced, and the things that keep us up at night. The great, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Of course, every situation is unique. Every person is different, is living their own life, and is taking footsteps no one else has ever taken before. No one will ever know exactly how you are feeling. They won’t know what makes your heart flutter and float, what keeps the skip in your step. The number of tears that have streamed down your face; the number of sheep you have had to count during a long, sleepless night.

But we all are human. We all have different views, different lenses that we see through. Whether it’s tainted brown or a rosy hue, we live in the same world. Maybe we didn’t come to the point we are at our life in the same way, but each and every one of us has had different mountains we’ve had to endure. We can learn from each other’s perspectives; these different stories we’ve composed. Everyone has their low moments, high moments, and not-so-sure-what-this-is moments. Maybe we haven’t shared the same footsteps, but many of us have crossed paths on a similar journey.

There are a lot more people feeling alone, abandoned, ashamed, or anxious than people realize.

If you are going through something that you feel that no one else in the world has dealt with, trust me when I say there’s probably someone you know that is facing it too. Now more than ever, as people, as a society, as a world - we need to support and uplift each other. Although it may feel like it now, you are never alone.