LJ Idol Presents:

alycewilson - I'm going to speak my own honesty here for a moment - this may be my favorite piece from you in a long time. (I always enjoy them, but this one was special) I think that if you hadn't already won immunity, there would be a good chance that you would have it now anyway. I hope that anyone who missed it - because they "didn't need to read it" goes back and checks it out. It's very timely, and important. What was it about this particular prompt that made you want to tell this particular story?

I'm so happy to hear that! I have been thinking about that topic for a while, because I've noticed that, as adults, getting to know my high school classmates better, how much we were all sort of stuck in our own stunted roles in school, afraid to speak our truth. And even after publishing that, I was nervous every time I saw that one of them had commented on the link on Facebook, wondering what they would say. And yet, it was all positive. What's more, a lot of them confessed to having many of the same anxieties.

I think it's so important today, maybe more than ever before, to be honest about what hurts you, and to speak out for others. It wont solve everything, but the more we see each other as feeling human beings, capable of hurt and also of compassion, the more we might be able to get past division and find true unity.