A young man’s beautiful poem, performed with all of his OCD tics and idiosyncrasies, about love and loss is streaking across the Internet, drawing tears and pulling at the hearts of people with OCD and the people who love them.
Neil Hilborn performed his raw, heart-tugging poem “OCD” at the
Individual Finals of the Rustbelt Regional Poetry Slam, according to Gawker.
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Hilborn used Reddit to answer questions about his performance and to talk with people who identify with his OCD struggles.
The feedback, overwhelmingly, has been a form of awe, almost a struck-silent (tough on the Internet) kind of reaction to the impact of his performance.
Said thekidwhostolethesky in a comment on Hilborn’s YouTube video: “I don't think it's beautiful because it's 'cute.' I think it's beautiful because it's so raw and honest. Love is patient. Love is kind. I think his compassion overshadows his disorder. The love in his heart is much bigger than his OCD.”
The performance of his raw, real emotions as he fell in love and then was dumped by his girlfriend is cracked by the tics caused by OCD.
On Reddit, someone asked Hilborn if the tics were real during the performance.
“They are an intentional performance, but they are also my actual tics. Sometimes in performance they become real,” he answered.
Someone else asked if the girlfriend who left him had heard the poem. Hilborn said, “Haha, oh yeah, she has heard the poem. The first time I ever performed it in front of a big audience, she was there. She did come back ... and then left, and then came back, and then left again.”
The authentic feel of Hilborn’s performance struck many who watched it.
Posted Divorah Kenitt on the YouTube video: “When someone's brain and thought process is natural poetry, and they take a moment to open the window and give you a glimpse of their soul, that's beauty. If you take that glimpse and find any imperfection, you're only looking at a mirror. That guy was something pretty awesome.”
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