Matter

Is anything that takes up space

But when I utter the words

"You matter"

The verb takes the noun's place

And to say that you are just taking up space is absurd

Because you matter

To the gentleman at Subway with eyes so blue they devastate

Who's hands shake when he makes my sandwich

You matter

To the laborers constructing bridges over the interstate

Who work so much harder than a CEO but will probably never be as rich

You matter

To the single mother who has to make up for lost time with her children

Who's been clean for two whole years

You matter

To the college student who cried during finals week after she fell in love with one of her friends

Who had a dorm mate that she couldn't even show tears

You matter

To the photographer who grew a beard to show he was a free spirit

Who left on summer solstice after doing the same thing that the college student did

You matter

To the 4th grade teacher who taught me that if I feel it I should write it

Who made me believe I was important even if I was just a little kid

You matter

To the boy who fancies boys more and to the girl who fancies girls more

Who sometimes believe they don't belong because it's such a non-accepting planet

You matter

To the inventor of polka dots who doesn't know that today those are what I wore

Who I owe a lot of my happiness to now that I think of it

You matter

To the people I shared sweat with at Warped Tour while we would all sing

Who I felt like I fit in with

You matter

To the best friend who is no longer a best friend to me

Who has boyfriend who was good enough for her when I wasn't because he's a romantic

You still matter

(Even though I wish you didn't)

To the romantic who broke his bones in May

Who I tried to never blame for anything that went wrong

You matter

To the Texan in Illinois who I miss terribly today

Who I've never been over 800 miles from for this long

You matter

And on average one person in the United States commits suicide every 16.2 minutes

And when I utter the words

"You matter"

I mean it