Stories and Starlight

inspired by lyrics for "WE'RE GONNA BE ALRIGHT" by Switchfoot if you laugh until you cry or cry until you laugh; whatever the order, you'll be out of breath, your sides will hurt, you'll come out stronger than before. it's okay to cry. it's okay to laugh. it's okay to feel.  your emotions don't define you, they are only a part of you.  so don't be afraid to cry. when you've held it in too long and the balloon pops, let yourself go for a bit. take a breath, a new step, and don't forget - you're gonna be alright. so don't be afraid to laugh. when joy is uncontrollable and fun is uncontainable, let yourself go for a bit. take a breath (you know how much you need it), find the spring in your step, and don't forget - you're gonna be alright.  so don't be afraid to feel. some days your emotions will be elusive, some days they'll form a tidal wave, and when that wave crashes, and all that you feel in that moment is just...

I. the poem look up...  i see you crying, tired of trying thought the day would be easier than this the light stops shining, night is blinding can't find your way walking with your eyes on the ground so look up you'll never know how much goes on above you look up you'll never know how far you might reach just look up there is so much to wonder at if you only look up 'cause there's so much to wonder at, if you only look up _______________________________________________________________ II. the story  it was an early start to the day, and i was not yet over the "i'm-not-a-morning-person" blues. all of a sudden a family member (who was slightly more awake) called my attention to the ceiling. right there, clear as day, was a rainbow. not a tiny speck of color, but a real beam of visible light. my first reaction was to take a photo of it. my second reaction... "wait, where'd it come from?" somehow, the lig...

_________________________________________________________________________________ "Do something fun." FUN? What's fun? Lately the things I once did simply because I loved them have become almost like work. Simply tasks, little boxes to be checked off. And not that there's anything wrong with checking off the boxes (I love the feeling) but still... Where's the heart? Where's the fire? Where's the passion? Goals and ambitions can only take you so far. You know how the saying goes, all writers have writers' block, all artists have periods of no inspiration. And I know for every burst of inspiration there will be twice as much the need for determination, but all the same... Where's the heart? Where's the fire? Where's the passion? Discipline can only take you so far. I've lived so long in this endless round of to-do lists and deadlines and assignments that it has become my life. That kind of life means you wil...

Dear me, When you’re tired, turn your thoughts into poetry. When you’re angry, rearrange your armored walls until they open again. When you’re hurt, hurry to pour it out on the blank pages of a book. When you’re dying for things to be different, dare yourself - and find a way to change it. Don’t let your ugly feelings stay that way. Don’t leave them locked away. Let them out, but make them beautiful.

When I was younger, I wrote stories all the time. I don’t know exactly why I stopped, but for a long time, I didn’t write much. My fears definitely had something to do with it, because one of those fears was that I didn’t have anything worth writing about. Anything worth telling. Earlier this year, I remembered a certain poem I’d heard before. It was about overcoming fear, and had hit me so powerfully that it almost felt like it had been written just for me. So I decided to memorize it, as inspiration. But eventually, the poem I had only planned on memorizing for fun became a speech, and the speech became a message that I shared over and over again.  And after presenting this poem, I started writing again. The poem became a part of my story. And every time I shared my story, I touched someone else’s. I hadn’t expected this. Did this happen because the story I told was mine? There is this expectation that in order to be extraordinary, you have to make yourself different f...