The People Who Got Me Here | A Poem

To the boy

Who walked away

He didn’t say why

To a friend

Who moved on

We grew up together

Grown apart

Now we’re strangers

It’s like we never knew each other

To the two girls who thought three was company

I hope they’ve changed

To that teacher who spoke first

And never stopped to think

Said I was her shadow

Another did better

You’re her friend

I’m surprised to see you here by yourself

Thank you for making me learn

Lessons I didn’t know

You Know You Are A Blogger When

You think about your blog all the time. Even more so if you’re a daily blogger. You love blogging too much to do it once in a blue moon. Besides, life would be boring if you did.

You read articles and books and posts about blogging. Learning by osmosis is a strategy you’ve all but perfected by now.

You can work anywhere, anytime. Even at the dentist’s office right before getting your wisdom teeth removed.

You spend so much time on small details. Like choosing the right font or picking the perfect word.

You have some of your best ideas at the worst times. While you’re driving. When you’re in the shower. So you make a mental note to remember. Inevitably, one too many escape from your memory.

You procrastinate hitting the publish button. Until you realize you’ve been procrastinating for far too long.

You feel a sense of accomplishment whenever you publish a post. Afterwards, you reward yourself by repeating the procrastination cycle.

You don’t know how to talk about your blog to people in real life. What’s your blog called? You stumble and stutter. What’s your blog about? You try to change the subject.

You love your blog. And everything about it. You also love your readers. They won’t judge you, which is all you could ever ask for.

If you enjoyed this post, you might like You Know You Are A Writer When and You Know You Are A Reader When.

20 Things I Learned In 20 Years

I’ve learned a lot of lessons in twenty years.

1.   People suck.
2.   Forgiving is hard.
3.   Give before you get.
4.   I’m not alone.
5.   Comparing is unfair.
6.   Wounds heal.
7.   Timing counts.
8.   Regret nothing.
9.   Life goes on.
10.   Do not envy.
11.   Things happen for a reason.
12.   People come and go.
13.   Friends are important.
14.   Mental health matters.
15.   Appreciate art.
16.   Be kind to strangers.
17.   Do what makes me happy.
18.   How to say no.
19.   Stay true to who I am.
20.   Love myself.

What Writers Complain About

I complain about many things. I like to think if you’re human, you complain too. And if you’re a writer, maybe you’ll relate to this post. Maybe you won’t.

Lack of time.

How is 24 hours enough time to squeeze in writing with the thousands of other things I have to do on any given day? Tell me.

Little to no inspiration or motivation.

I know. Don’t wait for either. Be an inspiration. Be your own motivation. But writing is so much more fun when you’re inspired or motivated. Better yet, both. 

People.

The day I stop complaining about people will be the day I stop writing.

What do you complain about?

If You’re A Writer, Stop…

Asking for permission. I don’t care how young you are or how much experience you have. You don’t need to ask for permission to create. You don’t need my permission. You don’t need your mom’s permission. And most importantly, you don’t need the world’s permission.

Pleasing other people. The only person you need to please is yourself. And that’s hard enough as it is. Do what you want to do. Create something you genuinely want to create. If someone isn’t pleased about it, that’s their problem. Guess what? Unlike your plot holes, you don’t have to fix it.

Wishing and wondering. Do you wish and wonder and dream and daydream all the time? There’s nothing more I can say. Are you working and doing? Now we’re talking. I know it’s difficult. I know you’re busy. I know real life sucks more often than not. Why do you think I escape to fictional worlds and never want to leave them?

If you’re really a writer, you’ll stop reading this blog post and start working. Remember Big Brother’s watching.

Thanking People Who Didn’t Believe In Me

Thank you for not believing in me. For doubting me.

Thanks for bringing me down, so I can build myself back up. 

Thank you for laughing behind my back or in front of my face. For stabbing me here, there, everywhere. 

Thanks for teaching me to let my work speak for itself. For making me realize that I don’t have to open my mouth to get the last word. 

Thank you to the people who I didn’t please. Who I will never please. Thanks for teaching me that I couldn’t please everyone. But I could please myself. And that’s what I’ll continue to do. 

What Summer Is Really Like

Happy first day of summer.

Yeah right. More like:

Happy needing to exercise yet never wanting to.

Happy telling yourself every day you’ll spend more time blogging.

Happy trying to read until your tears and sweat fall onto the pages.

Happy hibernating in your own home because it’s too hot to leave the house.

Happy writing an atrocious amount of words even though you don’t have people to see or places to be.

15 Things I Hate

I feel like I’ve mentioned most of these things either indirectly or addressed them completely.

1. Smudges.
2. Public washrooms.
3. Small spaces.
4. Mud.
5. Tardiness.
6. Disappointment.
7. Bad pain.
8. Bad germs.
9. Bad manners.
10. Arrogance.
11. Insects.
12. Losing.
13. Negativity.
14. Liars.
15. Most people.

I also hate redundancy, but I’m redundant by nature.

And yes, I am very much a hypocrite.