The life of a teenager

2018 confessions

I am from the baby gates blocking the stairs,
From head & shoulders shampoo to Neutrogena.
I am from the house on Susquehanna Street,
From the red bricks down to the broken cement stairs.
I am from a loud Hispanic house,
From yelling at the kids and hitting kids with shoes.
I am from the roses in the front yard,
From the red thorny rose bushes.
I am from the catching frogs and craziness,
From Nana, Zianna, Sara.
I'm from McDonald's every weekend and
The family reunion parties.

From " your feet will grow if you eat standing up,"
And "don't give up ."
I am from Adam and Eve,
From "loving the sinner, not the sin ."
I'm from Isabela, Puerto Rico,
From quenepas and parcha.
From the left, my brother was in the snow for 2 hours by himself
And from the and going through windows.
I am from the baby pictures on the wall behind the couch,
From cute little babies to pimply teens.
I'm from a crazy Hispanic family that always sticks together
No matter what!

I am from the body shame,
From crying every night to emptiness.
I am from the name-calling,
From fake smiles and shocking silence.
I am from the broken heart,
It's shattered but it still beats.
I'm from the low self-esteem,
From the drowning of depression.
I am from the negative thoughts,
From "give up", "you're worthless", and "I hate you".

I'm from the stretch marks,
From eating a lot to eating less than a meal.
I'm from 215 pounds,
From losing weight from lack of food.
I'm from hot showers to ease the thoughts,
The water burns my skin.
I'm from the bags under my eyes,
From the lack of sleep from being too scared of the dark.

I'm from the "perfect" family,
From walking out on your kids and coming back years later.
I'm from the cheaters,
From cheating on your baby mama to having an affair.
I'm from bringing people down,
From telling your kids they're mistakes.
I'm from the hits,
From the blame, you took for by your siblings.
I'm from a long history of depression,
From the stories that haven't been told yet.