Look up in a clear sky and you’ll see one million stars you never knew were there behind white puffy or dark dull clouds. One million stars covered and disguised by the face of the earth. Some are brighter than others. Some are bigger than others. And some will shine or never show. But they’re there. They always have been and they always will be. Until the earth moves us in another direction to which the same star will not be known. Perhaps it was a shooting star. Shooting stars are well known for luck. Perhaps that shooting star is waiting up there to make one lonely and unfortunate person happy. Perhaps that person is me.

Many people are much like stars. There are billions of people on earth. Big, small, short, tall, black, white, heavy, light, mean, nice, and cold as ice. But we’re all humans. At least we have that in common. And many of those people are outcasts. They stand in the background. The most important part of a photo is its surroundings, its background. It gives the picture character, a meaning, a purpose. And it keeps the main object from looking boring. The most important part of any civil recognition is its surroundings, its background, because its background is its support group. The key factor to any job obtaining position is the background. Because the background reflects who a person is, who a person was. And it is a crucial thing. So the people in the background, the outcast, they have a purpose. And it is very important that they know that because they matter.

But as for the people who are in the background, they don’t assume they matter. Believe me, if they don’t think they can go out there and make a change, then by all means, don’t do it. But nobody, not even myself, said that it wasn’t possible. Martin Luther King Jr. made a change, so did Rosa Parks. Oprah and even Ellen DeGeneres did it. So why couldn’t the people who feel left out, unwanted, unknown? If they could do it, so could the people left behind in the background.

Like the stars that are covered and disguised by the face of the earth, so are the unknown. But they’re there. They always have been and they always will be. Like the stars, brighter and bigger than others, so are the unwanted. But they’re there. They always have been and they always will be. And like the stars that shine even when others don’t, so are the left out. But, like everything else, they’re there. They always have been and fortunately they always will be.

I’m sitting outside against an oak tree, looking up at a clear sky tonight. No gloomy clouds are near or in sight. It’s warm out. And I can see stars that are lighter and brighter than others. But in the background, I can see those that don’t shine as much either.