This is Me
Managing my life has been tiring
there’s so much, I felt the need to hide
but, my hope is that as I confide
I am gay
that my words in the end will be inspiring
Like many, I am no stranger to the dark
Hide away, I always felt
"'Cause people don't want your broken parts"
I've learned to be ashamed of all my scars
Run away, I decided,
"No one will love you as you are"
But I won't let them break me down to dust
I’ve learned that there's a place for me to trust
For I have learned that made in God’s image
I am in fact, glorious
When the sharpest words wanna cut me down
I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown 'em out
I am brave, I am bruised
I am who I'm meant to be,
this is me
And so last night when you said,
"I'm not sure how I feel about this"
The THIS... is the real me that you dread
And so with those words… another round of bullets hits my skin
Well, fire away 'cause today,
I won't let the shame sink in
Because, when the sharpest words wanna cut me down
I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown 'em out
I am brave, I am bruised
I am who I'm meant to be,
this is me
Yes, I got some of my words from the song in The Greatest Showman,
but only because they really resonate with me
because, the THIS is something I need to grow from
and growth from this ind of pain ain’t free
“This Is Me” is all about standing up for yourself,
being proud of who you are,
accepting yourself with all your deformities
and insecurities and scars
And, yes, that means loving self
even when there's nobody else
nobody who loves you back
which leaves your heart broken
like a fallen vase from the shelf
I might be deplorable to you or to another,
but this is ME we are talking about
which is the reason why I bother
So as you are trying to decide if you can accept me
for who I turned out to be
as opposed the person you were originally introduced to
Know that my greatest gift to you is a broken me
and I’m made in God’s image just like you
I understand that this is difficult for you
but know that it is for me as too
cause, I don't get that kind of choice of acceptance or not
as I don’t have the ability to walk away like you do
Where you are trying to decide how you feel about IT
as I share with you my pain
Please realize that I am in fact the IT
that your decisions about staying with me or not
are trying to attain
I love and accept me,
but respect that you have a choice
just please know that said choice escapes me
Because, all I can share
with my trembling voice
is an aching desire to be free
I'm no longer scared to be seen
I make no apologies,
I am a queer man made in the image of God
and THIS in fact
is the true ME
* Some of the Original lyrics to ‘This Is Me’ written by Justin Paul / Benj Pasek