Y(don't)OLO

    The concept of life is something I juggle with everyday. The thought that gallops through my brain "who am I" tends to haunt me from time to time, taking over after certain interactions and disruptions I have faced and continue to face in my LIVES. That can be anything from my own mind holding me back or ordeals in life I wish I didn't have to encounter just yet. But as I have learned as time has passed, not one thought in my brain is an original one LOL! Poet Ms. Moem summed up my entire existence in one poem, probably yours too.

They say that we live only once.

I don't believe that's true

As we become different people

Depending on what we go through.

From the day that we arrive on earth

We grow, develop and change

So how can we remain as one

When nothing stays the same?

Some people are enchanted by babies

Seeing magic in all that they do.

Of course, you also live as a baby

But that's no longer you.

Yesterday's you has gone away

But do not mourn for her

For you're all you can be today;

She's just the girl you were.

- Ms Moem

    This poem spoke to me as I constantly look back on my decisions and struggle with regretting those of the past. I think regret is probably one of the most intense feelings, conquering our minds and blinding us from what is truly important: our present LIVES. By no means am I acting like I know everything and I have all my baggage sorted out, not at all, but I believe that our high school, "existential crises" are a part of our development, a huge stepping stone crucial to our finding of ourselves. Our very own coming-of-age stories we are living through. It is a collective experience to let the "demons of our pasts" haunt us and all we can do is find a way to treasure these memories, good or bad, before we wake up missing out on these years. This poem is beautiful. It doesn't ignore the trials and tribulations of life, no, it embraces them with open arms and is probably one of the most realistic things I've read. My mom would call me a pessimist but I don't want to sugar coat these things like I would a few years prior. Stuck in my ignorant little bubble thinking the meaning of life was going to parties and having as many friends as I possibly could. SEE I just did that thing where I regret one of my past LIVES! I want to strive to get to this point where I see the beauty of my LIVES, each chapter introducing new encounters, new hobbies, new fixations or phases. I look at this poem as one of hope rather than one of harking back on mistakes or hardships. I want to embrace change and push myself to adapt to it. This includes my past LIVES and looking at them as my own personal character arc. Change is scary and as we approach the end of our high school LIVES, it really can be daunting. But this poem is really something I feel I was meant to see and I hope it speaks to you too as we carry on into this new, impending life❤.