dedicated to Bethany Hamilton, Malala Yousufzai, Garth Callaghan, Rashema Melson,  Aung San Suu Kyi, Chris Rosati, and countless others

You are an inspiration. And you may not realize it.

Your walk, your testimony – to you, it’s simply “you being you”.

But you inspire in ways you never imagined.
Whether you’ve stared into the eyes of evil or
fought your way back from the stench of death,
you evoke within me the spirit to survive.

What seems insurmountable to most, is a powerless obstacle to you.
You are an over-comer.

Because of you I choose NOT to allow fear to paralyze me.
I get up,
go out,
and do what must be done, although I shouldn’t be able to do it.
I defy the odds because you’ve already worked through the equation.
Your strength, your courage become my own.

You make me believe:
I know I can; I know I can.

You are my inspiration…a modern-day dragon slayer.

I see you.
I have learned your stories, and I cheer for you.

You inspire me.