If You Really Knew Me......

If You Really Knew Me...

MTV has finally gotten it right. They have a new show, "If You Really Knew Me", where they choose a high school each week across the national for something they call Challenge Day. 2 Leaders are tasked with the opportunity of getting young people of various cliques, races and popularity status together to help them to realize that although they are all very different they all have the potential to be hurt by the words and actions of others. They find out that everyone has their own personal struggles and that ultimately, it's not cool to be mean, make fun of each other for the sake of being cool or increasing their rung on the popularity ladder. I believe that MTV should receive an award for this series as each and every high school student would benefit from such an intimate discussion with their peers. I couldn't imagine living in the facebook, myspace age where mean and callous things could be said about you and everybody had the opportunity to view it.....forever. It makes it very hard for people to form and honest impression of you because many of them deal in the world of superficiality. How you look and where you're from and the activities that you participate in proceed your character from middle school on through high school. Praise God for adulthood, where you have the opportunity to choose your circle of influence.

So as a result, I'd like to share with you what I would have shared with my peers on Challenge Day as high school senior back in 1996.

If you really knew me.. you'd know I could be a really good friend to you if you gave me a chance.
If you really knew me.. you'd know that I hate it when people said that I was gay...because I wasn't.
If you really knew me.. you'd know that my grades were less than stellar, not because I wasn't smart, but because school felt like an escape from the problems at home.
If you really knew me.. you'd know that I wish that my dad and I were closer. I don't think he really cares to know me. We don't have a good relationship at all.
If you really knew me.. you'd know that I'm mildly insecure about how I look
If you really knew me.. you'd know that I wish that I could wear all the cool clothes that some of the other kids where.
If you really knew me.. that it's my faith in God that helps me get through each day.

If you really knew me..