Exclusion. That word sends a negative vibe up and down my spine. If you had asked me a month ago whether I had ever experienced this underestimated type of prejudice, I would have most likely shrugged my shoulders, mumbled, “Once or twice, maybe,” and returned the majority of my general interest back to the activity I had been doing prior to the intervention. But, ask me now. Really, you’ll be surprised to know that Little Miss Inclusive has been shoved outside of the Inner Circle, with the door slammed in her face and the light of joy and friendship she had grown so accustomed to being surrounded by, snuffed in front of her very eyes.


The situation sounds harsh, and perhaps it is just the wound on my heart that has only just recently been torn open left and right, leaving it a minimal opportunity to heal before it is forced open, only to bleed once more, but the foundation of my damaged feelings is anything but fictional. I try to get over it, to move on and simply engage myself in a new social group, but I have been bombarded with the fact that one cannot merely enter into a circle and expect to be warmly welcomed. Life just does not work in that manner, especially in the case of teenage friendships. But, the fact of the matter is, this girl is tired of sitting alone, in the darkness, on the outside of the circle she once knew.


She’s tired of being forced out of the place she grew to love and appreciate. Imagine being thrown out the front door of your home, followed by your suitcases filled to the brim with Memories, Experience and, what is now false, Opportunity. Degraded to sleeping in the cold and wandering down the streets of life with nothing but a heavy heart and the worn clothes on your back, the past as you once knew it vanishes, disappears entirely, leading you to the depressing present and an even grimmer future.


But, as I have recently learned, there is hope. Even in the most discouraging situations, where the end seems inevitable, there is a dull but strong light within each of our souls, fighting strong until we realize that it must be tended to before it diminishes. No one is going to tend that light for you. It is your job to keep the hope going. I didn’t know it before, but I have come to discover that these are supposed to be some of the best years of my life, and though it may appear so, no single individual or group of people can destroy the promise that my soul hold as its own, to keep fighting each day for the happiness I rightfully deserve.


We all deserve this opportunity, and we all can achieve it, but only with hope. Exclusion is an evil act. It can make us want to curl up on our paths of life, tired of wandering alone. But, we can battle this. And the only way it can be realized is by continuing down that road, until you see the sign that I know in my heart is coming closer each day, saying, “Happiness ahead.”