I tried to fit the pieces
together, but my introverted self
ended up pushing them
farther apart. I wanted to
spark something, 
light something on fire,
watch it burn deep inside as 
the smoke and ashes prick
my frigid cold arms.

I wanted to watch the fireworks
light up and burst
with prickling excitement
as my fingers laced through yours.

I turned my opportunity into water,
there but just out of reach,
slipping right through my fumbling fingers.

My heart beat so hard against my chest
it broke
and I let it.
I threw gasoline on it 
and watched the sparks ignite.

Letting my opportunity
lose itself to the flames.

The flames are all around me,
surrounding me, 
but yet I'm not burning.
I'm under water,
lost in what I can't touch.

My opportunity gone with the tide;

an idea turned to rust.

The spine cracks as my fingers open the pages
Revealing great sorrow
Pain
Joy
Life
Within these pieces of paper
Bound by bits of string and glue
Holding an entire world within
Memories and truths and lessons learned are
Sewed along with the fictional tale
We read
We are consumed in
Living through the epic lives
Of the people born within these pages
And given life
By the eyes that read them

My mom taught me
To speak
Portuguese,
The language of 
My family.
My twin cousins whose
Pink glasses tumble down their
Noses like an Arctic avalanche.
My aunt and uncle
Whose airy bread 
Baked with calloused and crinkled
Fingers, I still miss
Three years later.
My grandpa whose English is
Broken, twisted, and underdeveloped
Dances to the
American 2000’s hip hop
He doesn’t 
Understand.
All the things I've learned
To appreciate
After years of stubborness
Make it all worth it.

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)! :)

Harsh.
It’s pretty harsh out here
Dancing in the real world
Fighting to appear
Normal, effortless, without fear.
Mindless games
Playing through each ear.
 
My’n isn’t special
My’n isn’t new.
A story that’s been told thoroughly through.
 
She’s plastered, posted up on the walls
Forced and figured to speak to you all.
Tired heartache, beats so slow.
 
One day you’ll open your eyes and know
 
She’s lost and won those mindful battles.
The ones where no one can see her shadows.
She creeps and crawls all In the walls,
As she cries to the wail of the sirens which call:
 
You aren’t perfect
You aren’t white
You aren’t that Asain
despite
the mirror in front of you telling you so,
It’s hard to see what qualities really must go.
 
Pale to tan then tan to pale,
I’ve wanted it all since
I had failed

I was a model employee at the mirage factory.

Moved through the bland-faced clothes racks with swagger,
The cumulative bite of two dozen hangers on my arm;
Noticing everything but speaking vapors. 

Too female from the neck down in my black top;
Five-foot-four with a white lie.
So they talk down,
Snap fingers, click tongues, demand.

Just last week--

My throat burns with artificial honey
As I watch my neighbor sell
Some death-trap crap-card 
To New Americans, 
their accents rich and resonant.

Fake-woke headbands on my first day,
Fake-pride t-shirts on my last. 

My Dear Associates, the only motive is profit. 

The faint crooning covers
fill our heads with TV static
Managers fluently changing our channels
So we'll never quite get context on a scene

A business optimized for distraction,

Mascara,
to thicken nonexistent lashes.
Concealer,
to cover the "imperfections"
to blend into the world of "pretty" people. Ruby red lipstick,
to lure in a catch.
 

A friendship of opposites. At first thought, it seems unusual, yet possible. We have all heard the age-old saying, “opposites attract,” but does that apply to friendships?

Opposite friends are the best kind of friendship; an opposite friend is there to balance you, keep you honest. One is outgoing and loud, while the other is relaxed and calm.

The balance is needed, someone to tell you “no” or “that’s not the best idea,” your person to give you the advice you never even thought of.

Your weaknesses are your best friend’s strengths; if you need help with anything, you have the perfect partner to fix it.

A friendship of opposites is less like fire and water and more like wind and sand. Water and fire are mutually destructive; water will extinguish a flame, just as fire will boil water away to nothing. Wind and sand go together, yet are very different. They have things to each their own, the wind has air, while sand has earth.

Shh!
It’s 11:24 again
Everyone’s asleep
I tiptoe quietly to the doors

As I shut it ever so slightly,
in front of me,
you
aka my next door neighbor
aka the girl of my dreams
aka the most gorgeous person in the world

As we walk towards each other,
I gaze into you
settling my palms 
underneath your cool neck,
eye to eye,
smile at the ready
Nof if I missed you first​
;)