Flashes

If your life,

Flashed before my eyes,

Would I see past,

Your disguise?

Your hopes,

And your dreams,

Your truths,

And your lies,

All the things,

That you despise.

All these years,

You’ve held it back,

When you thought,

It was a good thing to lack,

Originality,

Creativity,

Personality,

And ability,

These are the things,

In you,

We want to see.

It’s time to break down,

Those walls you’ve put up,

And let everyone see,

Who you really wanna be,

Break the lock,

And give us the key,

Spread out your roots,

Just like a tree.

Because if you’re hiding,

Who you are,

It’s harder,

To shine like a star,

And see,

Your dreams come true,

The only thing,

You gotta do,

Is be yourself.

Be yourself,

Not anyone else,

Be yourself,

You’ll see that it helps,

Deep inside,

You know who you are,

So let it out,

Shine brighter than a star.

And when you do,

This simple thing,

Your friendship will grow,

And your heart will sing,

You’ll find people,

To whom you’ll relate,

Sadness and tears,

Won’t be your fate,

It’s time for you,

To just open the gate,

Just open the gate,

To your soul.

True Acceptance

“Everyone has felt left out at one time or another . . .”

That was a time when we questioned why life was so hard.  A time when we wondered why someone would not be our friend.  Then that all changed…  We met people that wanted to hang out with us.  We met people that laughed at our jokes and would be there for us.  Most of all, we met people that changed us forever and we felt True Acceptance.

I can relate to this.  In high school I was left out of friendships and relationships due to my disability.  Whenever I tried to make new friends I was always stopped dead in my tracks.  Then, my disability was the big thing that held me back.  It erected a barrier that was almost impossible for me to get through.  I could not hang out at someone’s house because there were steps in the way.  It was hard for me to talk to anyone since I was so used to being ignored and to being let down.  The more I tried the more I seemed to fail, and that led to me becoming shy as time went on.  I did not think that I would ever feel True Acceptance.

But then I thought of an idea . . .

If people won’t easily open up to me, then why don’t I open up to them instead?  I decided to teach others about my disability and about optimism during my senior year of high school.  And I was surprised at the response that I got.  People began to talk to me more and finally connect with me.  Those that I had never talked to before became my friends and trusted me.  People told me that they were going through many of the same things that I was going through.  I was not the only one that felt left out and ignored.  I was not the only one that was shy and I was not the only one who wanted more with my life.  Most of all, I was not alone.

That is something that is hard for anyone to realize.  We see people around us having everything and find it hard to see through that veil we create.  No one has a perfect life full of friends that never get upset and no one is on top of the world.  To sum this concept up, here is a quote by the writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, “We are all inventors, sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate.  The world is all gates; all opportunities.”  Once we realize this one simple concept we can finally feel True Acceptance.  We can find people that share our fears and that share our ideas and become their close friends.  We can share our thoughts about something and know that there is always someone out there that agrees with them.  Most importantly, we can work together and try to get through this game called life.  Well, not just get through it, but learn from it and live it to the fullest.

Now I am in my first year of college. . .

And I’m so glad that I’ve brought this concept of True Acceptance along with me.  The people that I met here are the nicest people that I have ever known.  They always give you a smile and do all they can to help each other out.  These amazing people aren’t, like in high school, striving to get the most friends and striving to be more “popular” than anyone else.  My newest and greatest friends are just trying to form friendships that will last as long as possible since they all know that we are in the same boat together.  Now that I know this myself I can give all that they give me back to them.  Not only do I now feel True Acceptance, my friends feel it too.

Listen

Is there anyone out there?

Is there anyone,

Who hears the words I say?

I feel like my life,

Is slipping away,

I need someone,

To help me make it through today,

I need someone to listen,

Someone to listen.

Now we’ve all felt,

That way before,

When all the good things,

Went out the door,

There was no one to turn to,

No one to pick us up,

Off the floor,

But now it’s time,

For all that to change.

When your friend needs,

A helping hand,

Make up your mind,

That it’s time to make a stand,

Reach out and say,

Is everything okay?

Don’t just run away,

Back to your own life,

Far from the strife.

Yes, there’s somebody out there,

Somebody,

Who hears the words you say,

When you feel your life,

Is slipping away,

When you need someone,

To help you make it through today,

There will be someone to listen,

Someone to listen.

Wouldn’t you want,

Someone to be there,

When you don’t know what to do?

Wouldn’t you want,

Someone to help you?

Here’s your chance,

To make things right,

Be someone who listens,

When life turns into a fight.

Sometimes We Realize

Sometimes we realize,

We are running out of time,

To make things right,

For everything to be fine,

When your life,

Is slipping away,

Don’t let sadness,

Be the thing to stay.

Just look back,

At all the great days,

The time of your life,

In many different ways,

When you spent time,

Taking in the sun’s rays,

Look at all the people,

In your life you amaze.

Don’t let the sadness,

Get in your head,

No matter what anyone,

Else may have said,

Even if you think the end,

May be just around the bend,

Your smile, your passion,

Your heart made of gold,

These are the things,

That will never grow old.

And when you think,

Life is falling apart,

Think of the things,

That you learned from the start,

How to take all the love,

You have in your heart,

And spread it,

Farther than the eye can see,

From people like you,

To people like me.

And when in the end,

When you can’t carry on,

You’ll look back at all,

The things that you’ve done,

And see that you,

Had a great life,

Being optimistic,

And avoiding the strife.

And you’ll also know,

That you’ll be remembered,

Forever and ever,

Endlessly and eternally,

As one who was,

More happy and pure,

Than anyone could possibly be…

Hurricane's Wrath

It happened so unexpectedly,

Has affected both you and me,

All along the East Coast,

Saving lives is what mattered most,

Forcing people out of their home,

Leaving them no place left to roam.

It is in this time we need,

To help people out and plant a seed,

A seed of hope that won’t ever go,

To the world we can show,

That we can make it through all this,

That all our strength won’t go amiss,

I know that this will be a long road,

Thanks to the rain,

And the rivers that flowed.

Just think of that neighbor,

That gave you something to eat,

That gave you a place,

To rest your tired feet,

Even when disaster may strike,

The human connection,

Will always be there,

There’s more people that will help you,

Than you are aware. 

Now is the time,

To look at what you’ve got,

Deep down inside,

You have a lot,

Even if you lost,

Many a material thing,

You can still be happy,

And your heart can sing.

So don’t let these waters,

Wade you down,

Try to make a smile,

Out of that frown,

Look at the sun shining today,

And just think,

There’s always a way,

Out of the darkness and into the light,

Hurricane Irene won’t win the fight.

We don’t need electrical power,

To be powerful,

We only need each other,

To stay hopeful,

Remember that every,

Day is a gift,

So don’t let your mind,

Get stuck in a rift,

Now it is time,

To stay on the path,

Of optimistic survival,

After the hurricane’s wrath.

Your Choice

Happiness, the act of feeling, showing, or expressing joy, is something that all of us want to have for the rest of our lives.  It comes from many different actions, from doing well in school to hanging out with friends, and is what we revolve our lives around.  We use happiness in our conversations every day, such as when we say “How are you?” or “Are you happy with it?”  But sometimes happiness may be hard to come by when something goes wrong in our life beyond our control or when we start to think about a sad moment.  During those times, we may believe that we can never be happy again; that happiness is not in our control anymore.  Truth be told though, happiness is in our complete control, both physically and mentally.  Happiness, It’s Your Choice.

Psychology can back me up on this statement.  Let me begin by explaining the science behind happiness.  To trigger the feeling of happiness, one must first be in a situation that would normally cause the feeling.  Once in that situation, the limbic system (mostly the emotion center) of the brain creates neurotransmitters (brain chemicals) that cause you to feel good, smile, and be happy.  These two chemicals are called serotonin and dopamine and they really control how happy or sad you are.  You’ve probably felt the effects of dopamine before during exercise; it was that feel-good, loose feeling you got after stretching or running or any other physical exercise.  So what does all this science mean?  It means that in order to be happy it only takes one happy thought or just simply going to a place that makes you happy.  Just doing that puts the events in motion in your brain to bring about happiness.  On the other hand, thinking sad thoughts or being in a sad place will of course bring about sadness.  So, as you can see, Happiness, It’s Your Choice.

If all of that science did not convince you, then let me give you some more evidence.  All that you need is a simple, 5-letter word, Smile.  We smile every single day of our life, sometimes controllably and sometimes unconsciously.  We smile when we laugh at a good joke, when we say hello to our friends, and even when we just walk into a room full of people.  Smiling can show people that we are not hostile and we are good people.  It really is the simplest thing in the world to do, considering that it takes more muscles to frown.  So how can this help you?  When you are feeling sad and down in the dumps, just smiling can bring you happiness.  When you are happy you smile, that’s pretty obvious.  What’s not as obvious is that smiling can trick your brain and body into being happy since it also releases serotonin and dopamine, which as I said before are the “happiness chemicals.”  So that means, when you smile you can be happy.  Once again, Happiness, It’s Your Choice.

Let me end with a short poem that I found from an anonymous writer that wraps all of this up:

Smiling is contagious,

you catch it like the flu,

When someone smiled at

me today, I started smiling too.

I passed around the corner,

and someone saw my grin -

When he smiled I

realized, I’d passed it on to him.

I thought about that smile,

then I realized its worth,

A single smile, just like mine,

could travel round the earth.

So, if you feel a smile begin,

don’t leave it undetected -

Let’s start an epidemic quick

and get the world infected!!!

Humble Pie

Some are in it for the money or fame,

They make it seem that life is a game,

That you can’t do something,

For nothing,

That everything they do,

Comes down to a price,

You shouldn’t need anything,

To do something nice.

What did we learn,

When we were young?

Before we could talk,

Before we could run,

There’s some things out there,

That should be done,

With no whining, no crying,

No wishing it done.

What am I really,

Trying to say?

The nice things you do,

At night, in the day,

Should not always be,

Along with the pay,

Sometimes its time,

To be humble today.

Although it may,

Feel good to brag,

When life is a bore,

When life is a drag,

But all of that glory,

Has a price tag,

Where in the future,

You’ll pay a price,

With the friends that you lost,

For not being nice.

To do great things,

For nothing in return,

You’ll have a great life,

With all the things that you learn,

And when in time,

The tide does turn,

Finding a person who’ll help you,

Won’t be a concern.