What are human books? Everyone has a story to tell. Just like every book has a story to tell.

Most people judge the book by its cover never being willing to open it and find out why it exists. If we started to open every book just think about what we could learn. Now, what if we took 20 minutes and listened to someone who is telling their story? Would the world be a better place?

I met someone yesterday that said to me I don’t know if my story has value. “My life has not had any real challenges.” But just like every book on the shelf not all of them are there to be scary or uplifting. Many books challenge us to look at the world in a different way. Some books are there to inspire with stories of success. Give us hope in dark times. Get us to laugh about life. But each book is valuable in its own special way. We might not see our worth as a book but it is not for us to judge what lies inside our cover. We need to let the reader make that choice.

I remember years ago when I chose to accept a challenge from a friend to become a book. I sat there with the same thought. My story is not valuable. I had spent decades having people in my life tear me apart and break my spirit. I was so very lost in the world of being a cactus that I did not know what lay below the surface of my own story. I have now been a human book for over six years. Each time talking about being transgender. The struggles in my life to be accepted for just to exist.

This year something changed I closed that book. Because a young person came to the library and started to tell their story about being transgender. While our stories are different they are the same. I thought to myself what do I do? I don’t want our library to sound like the transgender pity party. So I opened a new book of hope. I wanted to start to inspire people to see themselves in a different way. In a way where they could feel special. To let them know that their story of who they are is special. Many of us only see green with prickles. Many of us are not able to see that we all have flowers. We just need to grow to a point where they will blossom for all to see.

So what is the purpose of the cactus flower? I don’t know. But I will wait until I hear your story. Then I will tell you what your flower means to me. This post was written for “J”. I hope someday to hear your story. It has been a real pleasure getting to know you.