Zebra Sweatshirt

She sat across from me with bright pink hair, a small smile and a zebra print sweatshirt slightly peaking out from under her black leather jacket. She looked much different than the seventh grader I remembered, but as our conversation pranced from one subject to the next, heavy and light, serious and comical, I began to see her emerge. The exterior that might have caused untrue assumptions was just that, the exterior. Not too deep below that surface was an intriguing, passionate, opinionated young woman, strong in her own right, wise beyond the years she'd lived through. She reminded me of myself, who I sometimes long to be. Unafraid and uninhibited, though convicted and stalwart also. She also reminded me of what I'm passionate about. What I'm inspired by. What I have felt I've somewhat lost. That is to say, she reminded me that I love young women just like herself and pray that they succeed. That the deep dreams embedded in their hearts would be realized, never shot down. And that they would grow and learn and thrive into the magnificent beings God has intended them to be.