Poetry for the New Soul

To be yourself is

To be yourself is hard. 

Being the woman(or man) they expect you to be. 

The rules and limitations set before you are there as a challenge; a test

to see if you can rise above it. 

They push you, down and down, suppressing the unique qualities which make you a unique person.

Do you abide?

Do you resist?

Do you fight the pressure?

For the sake of the world, I hope you do.

We all have a responsibility to the world to bring something new with each rising day,

some new quality of life which nobody else could bring.

A laugh,

a shoulder to cry on,

sagely words

childish nature.

Don't hide that. 

After having been through much catholic school(don't worry, I'm not going to get all religious on you)

 I was always taught to dress like the other girls

 act the same way as everyone else,

 like a robot.

To be the product of the expensive education my parents barely afforded.

 To be the cookie cutter result of what everyone expected of me. 

No one good ever got anywhere just by following the rules.

Start a revolution(nobody told me quietly)

Make them see another way(the silence whispered to me)

Show them how it's meant to be(the emptiness roared)

So, I did. 

That school taught me all the things a good girl shouldn't be, which were all the things I was. I am. 

They practiced us being rule abiding,

 unquestioning, 

perfect drones of someone else's creation. 

I broke free. I showed my true colors.

I played loudly and without remorse. 

Without regret or fear of consequence. 

Do not seek the approval of others upon yourself, 

as your fulfillment of other's expectations is not nearly as satisfying as being who you envision,

 the person you crave. 

They ripped me ragged, left me myself.

Everything had changed,

 I could never be seen as their cookie cutter, 

and therefore, 

didn't fit into it(or their culture).

I was in a sea of strangers,

 traveling against them, 

their opinions pushing against me, 

a boat lost in the current, 

only the strength of my arms pushing the oars,

 propelling me forward.

Do I regret it? 

A b s o l u t e l y  n o t.

I discovered who I really was, I still am.

I painted pictures with brilliant colors across my life. 

I discovered the true friends I was meant to meet, the ones who last a lifetime. 

I didn't run away from that school though. 

I held my head high, and considered myself a revolutionary. 

An example for others to follow, 

who too were exactly not what they taught us to be.

Now, ask yourself. No, really do ask yourself. Say it out loud if you must. 

Am I someone who I could fall in love with? Not in a vain, sexual way, but in a way where you can appreciate your beauty, your faults, your triumphs, and can look back and say, I'm proud to be you.

Are you living your life through someone else's words or orders?

Don't. Ask forgiveness, not permission(I was told this by a priest so it obviously must be true ;) ) But with that, don't apologize for being who you are, who you love. That detracts from being you. 

Are you content to lay down on the floor in a room, alone, be content with yourself, and just appreciate living? (I'm not saying go lay down for hours on end, but like, just for a moment even, stop yourself and realize holy shit I'm a living  human being and that's kind of cool. 

Self improvement and discovery are a part of the human nature

and too often over looked and forgotten.

We forget to create

the world we live in

Fight for the right to be ourselves

and strive to the person we were born to be. 

Without EVER thinking of what someone else says or thinks. 

Just be yourself.

Yeah, I know, its hard, but we'll work through it. I did.