I've realized that we're different, but I won't be defined by it.

It's tragic, yet it's obvious. Hatred and difference are the discussions of the day. Pain and injustice are prevalent. Opinions and passions are heightened. I want to speak up. I want to make a change, yet my voice feels so insignificant in the noise of it all.

I believe in fairness, justice, and equally; yet the reality is that we are different. I'm not speaking of the difference of skin color or those things that can be held with the human eye. We are so much more than our outward appearance. We are different in ways that when put into proper view make us extremely dependent upon one another. We are different in the strengths we possess and the weaknesses we carry. We are different in what motivates us and what hinders us. We are different in how we learn and how we communicate. We are different in our dreams and our desires. We are different in our stories and our defining experiences. We need different because without it we would posses the same strengths and unravel in the same weakness. We would be like a cluster of puzzle pieces cut into the same shape who are unable to connect to one another and make something more than themselves. Without different we would never experience the beauty of unlike pieces fitting together to make something amazing. 

But in our differences there is one thing we all have that is the same. This common thread is called choice. No matter how different we are, we all have a choice.

We can choose to be defined by our differences, the limitations, mindsets, and injustices that seem to separate us, or we can choose to be defined by love. A love that see how one's strength can unite and cover another's weakness. A love that can see how one's power can lift another's injustice. A love that acts in such a way that those who are chained by the mindsets of hate can become free. 

Will you choose to defined by love?