Note: Don't assume who someone is just by appearances. (2018)

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The man with long hair, tattoos down his arms,

lips painted black,

He must be into goth, metal,

and probably a high school dropout.

He must have started drinking underage,

done drugs and maybe still addicted.

He must be abusive.

He must be scary.

The woman with short boyish hair,

wearing suit pants, no makeup, and talking with a

girly girl.

She must be a lesbian.

She must be so bold

and brave for showing the world her true self.

She must be tough,

and maybe you don't want to mess with her.

I wonder how she met her girlfriend?

* * *

He tried hard to fit in,

dressing the way the other guys did.

He tried hard to act tough,

but inside he's always afraid of being misunderstood.

He's never done drugs or had alcohol in his entire life

although peer pressure often threatens him.

He grew his hair out to hide behind it,

and he graduated from college recently—

a degree in biology.

He wants to be a researcher,

but he has no more money for his education,

so he works at a bar,

and another persona is created because,

he's too shy otherwise to talk to strangers.

Deep inside,

behind the smiles and tough attitudes,

she fears the world.

Despite being bold and showing her true self,

she's frightened that someone from her past,

would find her,

telling everyone around her that she used to be a boy.

She doesn't want to hear the name she had before.

It wasn't her.

She lost so many people she loved.

Her girlfriend is the only one who understands,

because,

she used to be a boy, too.

* * *

When you see someone on the streets,

the train, the bus, the store—anywhere,

always remember,

there is so much more to a person,

just as you are also not

who they think you are.