By: Loving Life as Emma
Prose & Poetry, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Acceptance

Since graduating college so far I’ve been able to learn so much about myself and it has been an incredible journey. I won’t even try to pretend it has been an easy journey because it was not in the slightest, but the things I’ve been learning about myself are so exciting that it makes the struggle seem worthwhile.

One way I’ve been finding myself has been creatively. Since I was young, expressing myself through art and imagination has always been important and natural to me but in college some of the hardships I faced caused me to feel kind of stifled when it came to creative ventures. I still made things because making things is essentially a compulsive act and coping mechanism for me, but I didn’t do it as freely or thoughtfully as I would like. In the past month or so I’ve had so much fun feeling so free in my ability to make stuff. So here’s a poem that has literally nothing to do with any of the aforementioned things. I guess I just wanted to say all of that and also share this poem I wrote. There’s also a spoken version of it on my IGTV but I wanted to post the written thing here in case anyone wanted to return to it or can’t stand the sound of my voice (insert winking tongue-out emoji here). My IGTV video also gives more context about the poem itself so check that out on my IG page here if you’d like. Enjoy!

It’s hard to accept
That I’ll never be seen as perfect

But acceptance isn’t impossible.

It’s hard not to fight
For approval even when it’s not right

But stillness is still plausible.

It’s hard to believe
Good things are coming for me

When my dreams are barely audible.

I keep making stuff
But even when it’s good,
It doesn’t seem good enough

To make a single jaw droppable.

I keep dancing with the world as my stage
Showcasing joy, fear, pain, and rage

And somehow I still think I’m unstoppable.

I hope my smile’s so bright
It makes someone see the light

That before they never realized was possible.

We analyze order in chaos
And chaos in order to make sense of the world around us.

But what good is it all
If we never stand tall
and exclaim the good things that surround us.

I hope you’d be more amazed
And be way more curious
Be serious enough…
But never too serious.

I hope you never get tired of the stars, the trees, or the people,
That you’d never stop marveling at cars, the streets, or incredible sequels.

Love things so so so much that you can’t help but exclaim them
And never let someone make you feel like you have to contain them.

If life weren’t meant to be loved then we’d never have sunsets
Or oceans or mountains, or hugs, or beds to rest.

Sometimes you’ll have messages that you’re uncertain about projecting.
You’ll have things you want to say, but also a heart to keep protecting.

And you’ll be scared because what if you say something that matters and nobody listens?
It’s okay, because even if it only changes you, it’s still making a difference.
And if improving lives is your main mission,
Then you can achieve 100% success without anyone’s permission.

And it’s hard to accept that you’ll never be seen as perfect.

But what if perfect stopped being your goal?

I think you might find
That as a person you’re the perfect kind

To breathe into the imperfection that makes your soul whole.