I'm breaking down
I'm actually breaking
The cracks have gotten too big
It's flooding
My tears are rushing down my face
They won't stop
It's too much
I can't handle it
No one can
It's impossible
The pressure
Was building
Is building
Always will be building
So I broke
I'm breaking
I will never stop breaking
Till I'm shattered
And I become like the rest of the world
It will break me and
Make me like you
Responsible
Boring
Uncreative
A contributing member of society
I get it now
It's pressing us down
Into their mold
So we all fit
I understand now

You'll never know the feeling you give me when...**
You text me back
You smile at me
You look at me like you actually see me
You bump my shoulder
You stand too close
You pick me first
You stand near me
You talk about me
You are you

This is the house where I live.
This is where I learned to have thick skin.
This is where I hid when I was broken.
This is where I healed.
And you can see broken smiles.
And hear fake laughs.
And feel hearts being stitched together.
In this house where I live, I learned to heal.

F
A
L
L
I
N
G
Faster and faster
Harder and harder
Flying without the ability to stop
Grasping at anything to slow me down
Dying slowly
Quickly falling
Not knowing what was at the bottom
Falling in love is scary, I know
But falling in love with you
Is something I am very used to

I am quiet,
Lips zipped by an unforgiving society.
I am pretty,
Put in a cage for all to stare at.
I am smart,
Judged by flimsy pieces of paper with no real worth.
I am happy,
Fake smile plastered on by expectations.
I am strong,
Facades placed in front of broken pieces.
I am confident,
Hiding behind big smiles and loud laughs.
I am brave,
Facing down my own monsters to protect my friends.
I am me,
Loud, average in looks and intelligence, tired, weak, self conscious, and scared.

Running away isn't always the best option
Hiding from everything that hurts us
We are not convicts
They are not the police
They are just adults with a God complex
They do not control us
We are our own people
We deserve to be respected
We are the source of power
We are the new generation
And we will not be oppressed by people
Who demand respect without earning it
We are creatures with more to offer than we   will ever know
Our talents and dreams remain undiscovered
We are repressed
Stand up against this discrimination
Be who we need to be
Love who you want
Listen to what you want
Wear what you want
Be who you want
We are the new generation

I'm tired.
Not stayed up too late tired,
Not woke up too early tired.
Not too many sleepovers tired.
I'm exhausted.
Can't sleep for weeks tired.
Too many nightmares tired.
Insomniac tired.