When I was in undergraduate at Oberlin College, I took a course titled The literature of the Holocaust . It was simultaneously the worst and the best class that I ever had. It was the worst because it was beyond depressing to read about what human beings are capable of doing to other human beings, but it was also the best because it showed me illuminating tales of survival and how people persevered. One thing I learned from that class is that the reason the Nazis could do what they did, was because over a period of time, the Jewish people became known as less than people. Meaning, they became relegated to a little less than an insect. Not human, so therefore not deserving of any dignity, of any caring, of any compassion. They were, in essence, not people, certainly not individuals. Therefore they deserved to be exterminated, just as insects and rodents or exterminated. Each time I think of this, it makes me cry. For anyone who has ever felt different, in anyway, this is a way of life. Thank you again for being brave and courageous enough to share not only your experiences and that of your friends, but also to be vulnerable and share your pain. You’re not alone. I am different too. Most creative sensitive people are different. But they are also the very same people who change the world, too 💝