As we slip into summer break, I just wanted to express that school in the past year in the pandemic has been incredibly difficult and that everyone here deserves time to themselves this summer to do things that you love!

We all may still have responsibilities this summer that we have to do, but still, try to find time to do things that make you happy this summer.

Be proud of yourself for everything you have overcome this past year and for the strength you have gained.

For me, this past year has been a constant struggle between me trying to be productive and just being exhausted (and I'm sure many of you feel this way as well!), and saying this to all of you is also just a reminder to myself that we all deserve a break. ...

And of course, congrats to all my fellow high school grads (and to all the middle school and elementary school grads as well)! :)

the world seems to always be changing
you grip onto one thing but then it slips
right from your fingers

life can be 
static
monotone
predictable

but it can also be
dynamic
ever-changing
chaotic

change doesn't always feel good
losing familiarity hurts
but maybe a changing life can be
a good life
it's what you make of it


 

the sun is coming out quickly
and doesn't leave too soon
the buds haven't began to blossom
the trees look a little bare
but there's a warm-ish breeze in the air
that tells me spring is near

 

my eyes can barely open
they've drifted into their own sleep

and now school is starting
and it makes me want to weep

yet i guess it looks warm outside
and that's worth praise in itself

but remember that today is a new day
so you should embrace it and love yourself
 

Your heart aches,
each pump of blood filling
your body with pain and regret

whether it's a loss of that special
person in your life or the melting
sorrows of that something that's
missing.

You feel hurt but don't want to say
it because they always tell you that
everything is going to be okay

but it doesn't feel that way.

It's okay to say that it's not going to be okay.
It's okay to feel that you don't have enough.
It's okay to feel unbearably empty.

Just know, no matter how far
apart we may be,
I am only a couple of words away.

warm summers still feel
too far away, as if i could
reach for it in my palms
but it slips right away

cold winters feel far too
close, as if never-ending
it always snows

spring is closer, but still
not here, little buds still
nesting under the frozen
soil

who knows how fast the
seasons change, i guess
it's just up to nature
 

when you can't go and meet your friends
when you can't send over a gift
when you can't put up a grand gesture
words are enough

when you can't sing a song
when you can't do a dance
when you can't bake a cake
words are enough

when you want to convey something
but you don't have the means to do it
when you want to tell someone your feelings
but you don't have the courage to speak it

just write them down
words are enough

great
great
great
grandparents walked the homeland
their footprints were artifacts in the wet mud
memories of a time
they found the only patch of land that hadn’t 
been consumed by someone else

in their right hand they held seeds 
and in their left a garden shovel

those seeds were tucked under earthen
ground, blessed with water above and
warmth below

they soon blossomed into little babies
who cried for their parents at night
waiting for a cradle to rock them to sleep
they still needed someone to water them
someone to help them grow

but these babies became children
and these children became adults
and these adults needed no one’s help
and they wanted to be as far from the soil as possible
they became bustling city folk breathing in
polluted air and hearing the car horns that 
splattered impatience on the busy streets

five things i'm super grateful for today:
1. my awesome family
2. my amazing and supportive friends
3. a good education
4. writing
5. jokes (does anyone know any good ones?)
 

catalyzed fear pulses through her neck
waiting for there to be a whisper that 
tells her everything is going to be okay

sweat forms thick beads that fall from
her palms like melting butter from a 
loaf

faster faster faster
her heart beats
faster faster faster

tepid breaths peel at her tongue and lips
soft tears coating her throat
once again, all is silent

once again, she waits for everything to 
be okay
because she knows
that everything will
be okay