What is real for you, might be a lie for me...

What is real for you, might be a lie for me.. but in both case the reality of someone.

I read this sentence over and over and I tried to make sense of it.

Let's do it together. You live in a nice town, where you had your first date, when to see your first movie. You have tons of great memories, with your family, friends, pets. You graduated high school there.

You left this town to work or do studies somewhere else. Year's pass, and you come back to visit your parents. You, now, have a child and spouse. You show them every place that mean something for you. Obviously, you are showing locations that had good to great memories. You had some traumas like everyone, but nothing that would overpower the positive.

Now, let's look at it from my point of view. Like many first responders, military members, we don't live where we are from, it is a clean slate. I moved 20 min outside of the city where i worked. I didn't want to arrest my neighbor and I didn't want to see the darkness of where I lived.

So now when I drive into the city where i used to work, I only see the calls that I attended. I never had a good relationship with the city beside work. So, at the corner where you attended the bus that brought you to school, I attended a robbery where I had to chase a criminal who beat up someone for his wallet and let's be honest I didn't catch the bad guy. When we drive through a neighborhood, I fully know to not park there, because it is like Bermuda triangle, my car will be either stolen or break in. And the dead people.... I have seen my fair share like so many of us, meanwhile you see them in a coffin, and they are family for you. 

You know that festival where you go every year and enjoy your time, well I hate it. Why? because I associate it to rapes, assault, drugs, drunks, and night shift that never end.

So, your truth of joy, is a lie to me. 

Now that I heard your truth, are you willing to hear mine?

Because sometimes, in the dark of my days, I just need to be heard... but i feel the rainbows and unicorn's life you live in, really, REALLY, doesn't want to be tarnish by what I have seen.

Many like me are not looking for medals, awards, recognition, but just not being denied and having others trying to fix me... because how i see life, is due to my experiences and what I was exposed to.