never let them tell you
that you aren't one of the "pretty girls"
or that your laugh is too loud, or too high, or too low
or that you should try a one-piece on instead
or that the guy you like isn't cool
or that you can't do whatever the hell you want to do
because they're wrong

and just know
that i will fight for you
and with you
and laugh with you
and twist your curls in my fingers
and love you
forever until infinity.

We live.
We hope to love.
We die.
When we die,
will this world end up being what we had hoped it would be?
I want to live.
But I need to figure out what that means first.
I've been taught to believe in God.
I think I do.
I haven't really figured out what God means though.
When I think about it now I suppose I might not.
I don't want to understand everything.
I try not to ask for much.
But there are some things I suppose I would like to understand.
Do I really need to spend my life trying,
so hard to please this unseen entity,
just to get to "eternal happiness"?
I'm tired of hearing the excuse,
"God would be angry with you"
just to get our children to treat each other with care and kindness.
I believe in faith,
I don't believe what it's turning into though.
I don't want to just have to believe in God.
I want to believe in this life.
I want to believe in the earth,
the sun,
the stars,
one another.
And when my time comes,
whenever that may be.
whether he is there or not,
I hope that I was the best person that I could be.
Because in the end,
we only have ourselves,
and I don't want to end up with a "me" that I can't live with,
because if eternal life does come after this.
I don't think I could survive.

The strongest word is the heaviest to lift
The most meaningful expression the one that gets the message through
And honesty… is the gravity.
It gives weight to words
And “I love you” is lighter than “I don’t love you anymore”
Because honesty alone hurts more people than any lie.