I've moved ten times
within four states
in the first eleven years of my life.
I've said good-bye to
best friends and
influential teachers,
favorite spots to read and
a few great ice cream shops.
Initially I always regretted
having to leave behind comforts
but then I realized
there are so many better things
to say good-bye to.
When you move, when you start anew,
say good-bye to all the ****** things.
Say farewell to all the times
that you felt lost,
leave behind all of the
old bruises and scars
(although it is a good idea
to remember and learn from them,
it's better they stay in the past)
Bid "adieu" to every instance
you felt less than whole.
Rid yourself of these unnecessary
weights on your chest
and move on,
taking a new breath as you go.

When I see your face,
It doesn't just take up space.
Everything fades away,
And you take my breathe away.
When you come near,
Everything disappears,
And its everything I can do
Not to reach out and hold you.
When I shut my eyes,
Your face is the only thing I see.
Your hair blots out the world
As you lean in to kiss me.

So much of my life has been spent
With my head down,
At a fourty five degree angle
Pointed at a couple inches of glass.
And I just loved it so much.
And what's not to love?
The entire world is at my fingertips, right?
My friends are just 140 characters away, right?
I need to be able to tell everyone
Just how awesome that pumpkin spice latte is, right?
I have 398 likes your last upload,
So everyone loves me
Right?
So, I decided to turn my phone to grayscale
To remind me to look up.
And I can say with certainty,
It has changed me.
No longer can I sit idly by watching videos on my phone.
No longer can I just scroll through Facebook
Ignoring those faces around me every day.
Not because I don't find it interesting anymore.
More than anything,
I finally realized
Just how dull and uninteresting my phone is
Compared to the colors in the real world.
In life.

Live Life In **Color.

New year, I said.
New place, I said.
New me, I said.
New sheets, I got.
New strings, I played.
New food, I ate.
New me, I felt.
But,
Trees are still tall,
Grass is still green,
The sky is still blue,
And you're still
The first thing I think when I wake up,
And the last thing I think about when I sleep.
And I slowly realize
Nothing is really different.

This skin feels just one size too small.
When I try to stretch,
It holds me back.
I find my arms and legs are still bent,
Just waiting until they can really extend
Out into the world
Grabbing what they want,
Running where they want.
Waiting till they are
Free.

Sometimes it's okay to be wrong.
It's okay to not be
The smartest,
The funniest,
The most well-adjusted.
It's okay to be
Broken,
Hurt,
Sad.
Because it's not about how you are now
But about where you're going to go next.

Life is about
Nothing and everything;
Decisiveness and indecision;
Stagnating and flying.
It's about how everything is possible.
Everything.

So if you're
Broken,
Sad,
Or hurt,
You can be
Fixed,
Happy,
Whole.
It might not be easy.
There might be days you think you walked down the wrong path.
But you didn't.
Because every path is the right path.
Because every path is the path you need to be on
To be here.
To be you.
And you are pretty special.
More than anything,
You are special to me.