Growing up I was not the most mentally stable person and my views on the world were desolate because I was in my head instead. Over time I grew up and out of the concept of being inside my head and with the hard work of significant others in my life I blossomed into something more.Reflecting back on my life I was inside of my head for quite a few reasons including the fact that my home life was not the best but what stands out more is the peers that were around me. 

I learned the hard way that people are not always going to be kind towards you and that sometimes they lack a moral compass, as my mother would say. My peers in my junior high life would push me around, call me names and gossip factually incorrect rumors behind my back. With this concept stated about me and my life, what matters to me most is words because they can affect a person, reflect who you are and shape the perception of others around you, and your own perception. Due to the bullying and abuse I received from my peers, no matter their motive, it did change me and affect who I was;along with what actions I took to different situations. 

The physical abuse was not the worst of the abuse that was lashed at me, what truly sunk in was their words.People like to say that words cannot hurt you and that people are the things that hurt you. I do agree with this statement but my view on it is different than most may be accustomed to.I believe that people are truly the reason behind the harm that comes from words but the pain comes from the repeated use of the words. A person can mutter one meaningless but intentionally harmful comment as they pass by you but what is the chance that you will see that stranger again?The harm comes from a person repeatedly being told over and over that they are nothing and that they will never be anything.

Words are like a two sided sword because both ends are just as sharp meaning that what you communicate can harm others as well. You can be that person who abuses someone else just as someone can abuse you.Your words reflect who you are and what your ambitions and culture are; they also reflect those who have raised you or can make people believe you belong to one niche. 

This reflection plays into the idea that perception is one of the most important factors in most ideals, and ideas of this world.I suffered a mental change of perception about the world during and after the abuse I was given in junior high. This change during the abuse was that I wanted nothing to do with the world, that no matter what I said or did it did not matter. Because I did not matter. Afterwards I grew into seeing the world as a place where good people can exist and even in the darkest of times there is light.

Words mean everything to me, because they taught me that the world is in reality a broken and torn place where people reside in constant fear or live in some shape of sin.Not only did words teach me that, they taught me that good people can make a difference.I may not be able to solve world hunger or create something that helps millions but I can do something.My small contributions to the world do mean something, and that at the end of the day I mean something.Words are like poetic dances they can inspire and bring someone up from the darkest of times or they can be haunting nightmares that forever leave them for dead.