Steps

One- breathe

In out in out, take that air in

Two- smile

Through the hard, and through the best, you just have to keep on grinning

Three- forgive 

People make dumb mistakes and every time you need to forgive them, EVERY time

Four- apologize

When you've done something stupid, apologize

Five- love often

Love things, love people, love animals, love food, just find something you love

That's it, those are five things to live by for a happy life. If you want a happy life, you make it a happy life. You cannot place it on others to make it a happy life. Just because the sun didn't rise at night does not mean that life sucks. My dad always told me to expect nothing from everyone. And it works. That way when someone does do or says, something, you are pleasantly surprised. 

It's time for these baby birds to learn to fly

Nelson pulled a fast one on us. He threw us from the nest, and hoped we would spread our wings. 

I felt exposed. So many thoughts ran through my head, I was so afraid. Even now as I imagine that all of you know who I am, I feel so uncertain. 

I definitely was the bird that plummeted quickly towards the ground. 

But then I realized. 

I do have wings.

Nelson has taught us courage and taking risks and speaking for ourselves and that was the wind.

We needed to catch that wind to soar. And if we didn't, we would fall.

I realized, there are worse things in life than all of you thinking my writing is horrid.

There are worse things in life than writing how I feel and having people disagree, cause that's the way life is, people don't always agree.

There are worse things in life than having my pen name revealed. 

So Nelson, thank you for doing us all a favor. 

I promise, I won't sue you.

The Old Road

#sadchairs

Spring break

Spring break.
Untrue to it's name- it snowed.
I don't know, maybe it's a good thing it snowed- there won't be a drought with more water right?
I like the part where there's a break from school, but I wish I could have online web classes scheduled with Nelson for the week.
It'd keep me entertained as I stay here in Highland. [i hope that doesn't narrow it down too much on my true identity.]
The truth is- I like learning- it's the part where teachers expect so much from us that kills me.
I don't have time to do 1 hour of math, 1 hour of science, 1 hour for each class, and then attend activities and have a job.
Not if I want to get straight A's any ways.
I guess that's why I would only want creative writing over this break.
Because- I learn from that class like I've never learned before.
I've learned how to be better than before.
And that to me is more important than the square root of 1255.
Sine, cosine and tangent have nothing on the poetic messages that teach us life in creative writing.
Nelson teaches us how to play our heart strings in a methodical beautiful way.
How he teaches is simply by example.
Really if I had to be jealous of someone, it'd be Mr. Kyle Nelson.
Because he has it figured out.
He's been in Paris for a life time.
And to me, that's really important.

jealousy is foolish

The Rider

by: Naomi Shihab Nye

i don't know how to roller-skate--i never learned how--i guess i was too uncoordinated for things like that. But maybe that isn't what makes me jealous. Yes, i wish i could be as fast as the boy. i want to be able to skate, skate hard, as fast as i can and ditch my loneliness in the dust. But lonely isn't all that bad. So i can't be jealous of that.

But, Pink Azaleas- they are so delicate. 

and maybe that's what makes me jealous. that i can't be delicate, like azaleas, and Naomi added them to her poem.

Maybe i'm jealous that i'm not a poet.

But i shouldn't be jealous because of something that i could change if i tried.

So maybe i'm jealous that i didn't write about escaping loneliness first.

Because i'm an expert about it.

But maybe again i'm jealous of the whole azaleas thing.

Because flowers bloom on their own.

They don't look at the other flowers growing and say- they are better than me.

They just bloom.

They aren't jealous, they just bloom.

Loneliness is second nature to me.

But i didn't run from it.

i embraced it.

I am jealous of the Azaleas thing.

Why can't i just bloom?