Everyone is people.

Yes, yes, ignore the bad grammar and the fact that it doesn’t really seem to make much sense. It might even seem like a really stupidly obvious realisation. But everyone that you know, everyone you’ve ever met, everyone who’s ever lived on this planet, is a person.

This is one of the biggest realisations that I’ve ever made, and it’s completely changed the way I look at life.

You know that boss you have, who’s always on your case? That’s a person. Just like you. That boss has quite probably got a boss above them who’s always on their case.

You know that rock star that you completely idolise? That’s a person. Just like you. They’ve just had a bit of a lucky break. But they’re still afraid of stuff. They still worry about stuff. They still struggle with some of the same issues that you do.

Or how about that kid in your class who you think is a bit of a weirdo? There’s so much about them that you don’t know. They might be an incredible artist, or they could be the best in the world at something.

Even the annoying woman who cold calls your house just as you’re sitting down to try and sell you something you don’t want. She’s got bills to pay, and worries about whether she’ll make it too.

See the thing is: Everyone is a human being. With hopes, fears, stuff that makes them happy, stuff that bums them out. Everyone’s made up of the same bones and gooey stuff inside of them as you are.

And everyone struggles with something.

As humans, I’m a firm believer that we’re better together. Don’t get me wrong, taking time for yourself or even not having a group of friends around you, that’s fine too. But when there are other people around, we have someone to talk to about what we’re going through. We have someone to give us that hug (or cwtch, to use a good Welsh word) when we really need it most. We have other people to share our experiences in, to know that we’re not alone.

And as soon as we realise that everyone is people, and they actually need other people, then we can start to look out for each other and support each other. We can be there to pick each other up. We can share experiences, and ways that we coped in a situation, so that someone else can learn from your situation. It might even be that the whole reason you had to go through hell in a situation is so that you can tell another person how you got through it, to help them get through the same thing.

Maybe you just need to be the one to reach out to another person and let them know you’re not that much different to them.

– Si