I Still Laugh

I still laugh a lot, like I can’t stop. People wouldn’t know. I smile at everyone I meet, because I want them to feel they can come to me with anything. I see people now. Really see them. The girl with faint lines on her arm, like I once had. The one who always wears long sleeves, even when we play football— always something under her shirt. Maybe it’s just in my head, but I notice everything now. After everything that happened. After my friends struggled and came to me because I didn’t see it before. Now I do. I don’t want to miss it again. It changed me not in the way people think. I’m softer now, but stronger too. I want to be the person who listens. Even if we don’t know each other. I care. I want to care. Because I’ve been there, in the dark places. And somehow, helping others helped me find a little light again