don't cry, darling
things will get better
chin up
trust me.

no.
you know what?
cry.

let it out.
cry.
i know you've been hiding for too long.
i know you've been abandoned.
i see you.
you're beautiful.
you're perfect.
you're amazing.
if you ever wonder if you're a bad person? bad people don't worry about being better.
go ahead and cry.

let your tears water the ground.
let the seeds of despair and hurt grow
let the graves of dreams and lost friends have gardens
un-clench your hands and you'll find seeds falling out
every bad thing is now a seed
the bad things will become beautiful things,
just to spite everyone who said
"no you can't."
"it's not possible."
"you're stupid/ugly"/any other mean word

those will be the most beautiful flowers of all.

so let your tears flow.
they'll water the ground beneath your feet.
it'll be a garden of spite and inspiration.

"I will not throw away my shot."
Do not throw away your shot.
We have one shot to make a difference.
We have one shot to show them who we are.
To make them see we aren't who they think we are.
To let them hear us.
We have one shot... Make it count.
We must leave behind a legacy.
"What is a legacy? A legacy is planting a garden that you'll never get to see."
Let the younger ones see us fighting for what we believe in-
let them see us dressing for ourselves and not to impress others constantly
let them see us being who we are
let them see us using our words for good and not for evil
let them see us changing the world
one
word
at
a
time

darling,
you're made of
stardust.
not to be scientific
but
the hemoglobin found
in your blood-
the only other place
its found,
is
in
stars

In my homeroom class, we don't have a seating chart.
But I still sit as far away from the door as I can.
Subconsciously it's probably because of a school shooting.
I've been anticipating one to strike at my small high school for a couple years now.
It's probably because of a lock down we had a couple years ago when I was still in middle school.
There were armed men on campus.
We had to be silent for hours.
I was in choir at the time.
Over 100 of us were squeezed into a small space.
There were girls crying,
my best friend was holding my hand,
I was having an anxiety attack.
I was only thinking
"Please not today..."

I'm not surprised anymore.
When another school is in the news,
it's deeply upsetting
but not surprising.
It's all I've ever known.
The Columbine High School shooting happened in 2001.
I was born a year later.
I've never actually known peace in this country...