“I Believe in You.”

He said, "I believe in you."

We had only met once.

He’s a guy who is going to be (hopefully) working with me as a documentarian on The Disconnection Project. A young, sharp, and observant kind of guy. One of those people who listens more than they speak, but when they do speak, it lands.

We were texting back and forth about things and I was telling him where the project was going and the amount of traction it’s getting, the various stories that are coming in, and just the weight of what people are finally ready to say out loud. That’s when he texted me, “I believe in you.”

That was it. Just five words. And somehow, it hit me harder than anything I’ve heard in a long time.

It caught me off guard because this guy doesn’t owe me that, or anything for that matter. There’s no long friendship, no shared history. Just this single project we’re going to be building together.

But that’s the power of being seen.

We forget how rare and special it is. For someone to look at the work you’re doing and say, “This matters. And so do you.” No strings. No conditions. Just belief.

And that’s exactly what The Disconnection Project is about.

It’s not just about what we lost during COVID. It’s about what we still need:

To be heard.

To be understood.

To be reminded that our story is worth telling.

And that someone, somewhere, believes in it.

That moment reminded me why this work matters.

And why I have to keep showing up for it.

Stay tuned. More to come.

~Dr. T.