" We need to stop raising boys to think that they need to prove their masculinity by being controlling or not showing emotion or by not being little girls." (-Gloria Steinem)

I'm tired of people saying
that boys should never cry
crying is part of feeling--
which we should never deny
boys can be hurt
and boys can bleed
and sometimes crying
is just something they need
it doesn't make them girly
or any bit less strong
it just proves they have a heart
so how can it be wrong?
if having a heart
and showing it means
that you're not good enough
or you're thought of as weak
then quite honestly
i really don't think
i'd like to be a part of
this society

I can feel it
it rips at the walls
around my heart
desperate to be let in
so it can tear me apart
it claws
at the doors of my mind
screaming its battle cries
determined to get in
it tries
and tries
and tries
not only my pain
but the pain
of a thousand different souls
each of them furtively
trying to become whole
everywhere I go I feel it
like a presence in the air
pain so great
and sorrowful
it brings one to despair
I feel it in the street
and
I feel it in the store
I only wish
I didn't have to
feel it anymore...


not one
but a thousand
my demons
your demons
and everyone's

See that girl over there?
black hoodie? ripped jeans?
with her black lipstick,
you call her different
but if you looked behind the scenes...

then you'd know that all of it...
is just a mask that she wears
to keep her hands from shaking
so no one sees her breaking
cuz she feels like nobody cares...

and that boy in the corner?
who always sits alone?
he doesn't sleep most nights
and gets in a lot of fights
but if you saw how things were at home...

then you'd know that all of it...
is just part of how he deals
with the anger that burns deep
and doesn't let him sleep
and the pain & the heartache he feels...

still, you continue to judge
when you don't know all these things...
like the scars that she's hiding
the demons he's fighting
or how they ache to spread their wings...

you don't know the battles
that they go through every day
with the monsters deep inside
and the people in their life
who they wish would just go away...

and if you don't know...
then maybe you shouldn't treat them that way
you never know... the battles they juggle
or the way that they struggle
might be yours to go through someday...

"It's okay to be a glowstick. Sometimes you have to break before you can shine."

you can call me names
you can make me cry
but all the things you do
only help me learn to fly

you can call me stupid
say I just don't got a clue
but you're the one who's clueless
of the things that I've been through

But go ahead & try to hurt me
I've got a secret you don't know
anytime somebody breaks me
like a glowstick, they make me glow

So just try to bring me down
go ahead and cross that line
and just like any other glowstick
you'll only make me shine

" Take a deep breath, smile, & know that you are enough."

Close your eyes
and take a deep breath
ignore all the voices
inside of your head
don't listen to a thing they say...

just pick your head up
and keep moving through
they don't know who you are
but honey-- I do
and i know that you'll be okay...

I know that you're scared
of failing to reach
the goals that they set...
who they want you to be...
but when it all gets to be too much...

just put on a smile
and let it all go
you'll make it, I swear
as long as you know
that what they think
doesn't amount to a thing
cuz you are more than enough

" We are all born so beautiful. The greatest tragedy is being convinced we are not."

Once upon a time
there were things I did not see
I was completely blinded to
the beauty in front of me...

See, every morning
I'd look at my reflection
I never saw the beauty there
I only saw the imperfection
The mirror told me things
and like a fool, what did I do?
I hung onto every lie it said
convinced that they were true...

But they weren't...
the mirror had lied
I wasn't ugly...
I had beauty INSIDE!
I only had to stop
and step away from the mirror
That was all it took
for my vision to get clearer

So I'll throw away the mirror
stand back and watch it shatter
'cuz I'm perfectly imperfect
and to me...
that's all that will EVER matter

“When I say I can’t take on even one more thing, I really need you to understand I really just can’t.” (Christine L Hauck)

every hour…

every day…

you follow me so closely

and I just can’t breakaway

everything I say…

everything I do…

it’s always be controlled

by you, you, YOU!

the pressure you put on me…

I just can’t take it!

I’m sick of the burden

and tired of faking it!

I’ll never be perfect

that’s what mistakes are for

I give you everything I am

but all you want is more!

the weight is too heavy

when you ask for so much

one day I’ll fall

and I know I’ll be crushed

because the pressure you place

on top of my shoulder…

might just be what kills me

when I finally get older…