Dear Me:
Dear Me:
You are three.
With your light brown hair and artsy flair
you wander around without a care
Because your father’s escape from the Khmer Rouge and his refusal to lose
Has given you a life he was once refused.
You have time to paint the clouds and sing out loud and
dream about one day changing the world.
-
You are seven.
You go to the aquarium to observe wonders of the sea
But you see more than what the land-ocean ratios seem to be
Evolutionary ecology and wildlife biology set your goals into motion.
-
You are fifteen.
Perhaps you do not mean to implode,
as a star shines brightest when it is about to explode.
You come to realize behind those sleep-deprived eyes
that your achievements are the only things that positively reflect your cries.
-
You are sixteen.
You are strong.
From the cold cortisone creams that covered your arms as a child
to the asthma that prevented you from being wild,
you have gotten to where you are today because you got over being mild.
You did not allow limited resources to inhibit your passions,
but rather, used them to cultivate your compassion
Your pretty dreams and internal screams
and innocent eyes that radiate moonbeams
know
all is temporary.
-
You are seventeen.
The world may seem bleak and your body feels weak,
but you can say that your persistence and kindness
keep you going each week.
You have learned and laughed and cried and
have had your hair dyed purple to feel alive,
but you must remember you once were
A Texan girl living in California with her head in the skies
curled toes in the sand
A girl that once loved particular boy bands
Who put all her happiness aside to be inserted into the “real world” of petty lies;
the same “ real world” that has given her the pain of being defined
through the numbers on a scale
and through the unrealistic definitive of a dainty female —
Life is not a fairytale.
Yet this “real world” has given her the strength to convert
superficial obstacles into motivation
to strive beyond anything she ever imagined herself to be.
-
Dear Future Me:
You are a fire-breathing soul who has capabilities ready to unfold
and though there maybe a chance that you get turned down in the cold,
You know
Your dreams to preserve wildlife as a little girl,
to run across the sea tides and carelessly twirl,
and to make a difference in how others perceive the world
are no longer out of reach.
