keep writing.

I want to write. I want to write shocking things. I want to write crazy things. I want to write funny things, sad things, lovely things. I want to make people laugh, cry, think, wake up. I want to inspire and encourage. I want to create dreams within people's imaginations.

When I write, I fly. I soar. But when I write I also break. I tear apart things that don't want to open. When I write, I dig deep. I gorge out the things that are hidden. When I write, my fingers chase my thoughts like a poor worker who missed the number 82 bus. When I write, I don't exist. I only live in words.

If I want to tell a story, I write. If I want to stand for something, I write. If I want to share joy, I write. If I want a burden lifted, I write. If I am lonely, I write. If anything, I write.

But things just get in the way, you know? Insecurities creep in and whisper their dissatisfaction into my tired ears. Your writing isn't that great. Come on, my mom loves the way I write! But she's your mom; of course she supports your work. But how about my friends? They like my blog. Oh, you mean those likes on the link you share on Facebook? You think those count? But...

It's okay, you see. It's okay to not like your work. It's okay to think you're not good enough, because that's the only way you are ever going to improve. It's okay to doubt your gifts, because you will find ways to prove them. And it's really, really okay to write just however you like, because you're the writer. You think of those words. You had an idea. You wanted to write about it. You did it.

You there. Keep writing.

trashy thoughts.

It's scary to think how much trash

Fills our full minds each day

Words and images and videos

Unstoppable, coming our way

We waste our time feeding our minds

With things not beneficial

We compare ourselves to those we see

On bases so superficial

Crazy, isn't it, when we think about

How people spent their time

Before technology and its impact

On lives, yours and mine

When information competes for space

In our brains so clouded

We think of nothing else but these

Opinions and ideas shrouded

We seek to think about ourselves

When there is so much more

that can be done to touch others' lives

Instead, perfection we adore

Changing who we are to what we want to be

To try to make an impression

All in the name of uniqueness

Individualism and self-expression

Complaints and swearing and negative vibes

Flooding our tortured souls

Affecting our lives and emotions

Getting in the way of life goals

Maybe it's time to care less

About others' perfect-life projection

Perhaps one day we will realize

Our minds need lots of protection

*

Finally, brothers and sisters, 

keep your thoughts on 

whatever is right or deserves praise:

 things that are true, honorable, 

fair, pure, acceptable, or commendable.

 - Philippians 4:8 -

it's so easy.

It's so easy to find yourself lost
It's so easy to see yourself falling into pits
you'd never thought you'd even encounter.
It's so easy to lose momentum
in the vast, crazy world of university life.

Surrounded by people from
All walks of life, different than you
Slipping into habits you never had before
Habits you never struggled with
Influences creeping in from all directions

No constant prodding from teachers
No obvious answers from the books
No red pens, no A's, no tables, even
There's nothing familiar, nothing I know
Nothing I can recall from my past

It's a shame; what was once a 'good girl'
Slowly slacking, hardly trying
Is it the long breaks and the mood swings?
Is it the insane amount of freedom?
Really, in university, it's
                                     just
                                          so
                                              easy.