“Every day was a balance of energy between the things I couldn't cope with and the life I had planned for myself. Yet the people around me still hounded me, treating me as an inspiration factory. To them, I was just another sob story, a conglomeration of nature's cruelest tricks, so if they could get my secret to staying happy, then maybe they too could find joy in their more privileged circumstances. My question to them now would be to ask why they felt the need to use my pain to uplift themselves? The tough things I went through are not an inspiration for me; they are merely pieces of me that I own up to and love. It took me a while, but now I’m proud to be weak.” — Ken

Ken is a rare disease warrior friend of mine and that was an excerpt from the blog post they wrote recently for Our Odyssey’s blog. The story they shared has a message I believe isn’t discussed enough…