Fight...(Rise Up)
                                           By Kurtis Devore


  I want you to fight  I want you to fight as if the breath you just took is your last. I want you to fight because everyday of your life has led up to this moment. I want you to fight not for you not for me but for everybody. Everybody who has ever felt like giving up, every kid on every school playground that has ever been made fun of for their individual way of thinking, every single mom who took an extra shift to buy her kids shoes or to pay for her son to play sports, every grandparent who raised their kids and then grand kids, every trucker who drives the road to pay for the house that they hardly see, they are all counting on you to fight.

Please understand I’m not asking you to start a fight, that would be pointless and redundant.

No my friend, I don't want you to start a fight, but I sure as shit want you to finish one.

From the day that you was born you had to fight for everything, the breath that you took, the life you led, you fought, and at times it may have seemed like quitting was the easiest path to take, but we both know that's not the truth don't we? Take it from someone who has quit just about everything that they have ever started, quitting always seems the easy answer, until you quit. Then you wonder why. Why did you quit? Why did you even started in the first place? Why didn't you take that fighters spirit that has been lying dormant deep inside you, and rise up? Not just take steps forward but leaps and bounds? Maybe the answer is simple. Maybe you don't want to. Maybe you feel as if you have nothing to fight for. Maybe giving up is all that you know, perhaps no one ever showed you how to stand up for yourself, how to fight. Maybe you got tired of hearing those who claim to love you, tell you that you have never been any good.

Here’s the thing about those type of people they are sad and miserable in their own lives so they drag others down to their level just to make themselves feel better about the sad existence that they call life. To those people I say fuck off. Because I know you. Today is the day that you will rise up. Today is the day that I know you will wake up that sleeping giant inside you. Today is the day that I know you will dust yourself off, wipe the blood from your mouth, smile, clench your fist and slowly, deliberately walk towards the obstacle in your way, and with every memory that you have of quitting inside you, every moment you have of people calling you nothing but a fucking waste of space, everyone who ever called you a piece of shit, a loser they are all running through your brain trying to get you to do what you have always done, quit. Now they are all standing in front of you, taunting you, telling you that you don't have the heart to continue, that you are nothing but a loser and you should just lay down like you always do. I want you to listen to what they are saying, I want them to piss you off. This time though, when you reach that tipping point with your anger don't quit, use that rage that they have awoken inside you to defeat those that have stood in front of you, those that have tried to bring you down to their level. Those that wish to destroy that light inside you, I want you to embrace the spirit and strength of David when he faced Goliath. He took 5 stones from the river but it only took one to slay his giant.

When you have slayed your giant I want you to enjoy that feeling that's rushing through your body, you have earned it,  but don't get complacent. The next giant will rise up. And remember we need you strong. Because you are strong we know this now to be true. We watched you rise up against the odds and not only did you not quit but you kept moving forward, you showed not only us, but yourself and those that love you and respect you, that you can and will stand toe to toe with any adversity that comes against you. Just remember, we are here for you. We the sons and daughters of oppression, we the orphans of war, we salute you and support you. We know that you are strong, you showed us your strength. When you need us, when it feels like you can't take another step forward, we will pick you up and carry you until your resolve comes back. We support you for what you are not what they say that you once was. We know who and what you are. Your a fighter. Perhaps the strongest we have. You was forged from the fires of self doubt, depression, lose, and others putting their thumb on you telling you that your not good enough. You came out of that fire stronger than when you walked in. You showed me how to fight for what I want, what I believe in, you made me want to be a better person. You are my best friend. So as you take my hand to allow me to help you rise up, I see that little smirk on your face and the clenched fist, I feel pride swell up inside me as I know that this fight is the fight of your life and it's far from over……..

(While many can apply this to their lives in some way, shape or form, this was written for really only one person, this is for Michelle, you deserved this a whole lot sooner, but I needed to find a way to properly honor everything about you and all that you have accomplished.…… K. Devore)