after a moment, you answer:

“i want all this world can give me.”

there is a pause, and then the voice responds:

“then you’re going to have to give it to yourself.”

the fool

today is a beginning.

it is the softest of awakenings:

the fluttering of an eyelid

as you turn towards the sun.

there is a world out there,

and you are reaching for it

with fingers spread

wide and wanting.

a hundred paths twist

across plains and oceans,

through forests and caves,

over valleys and mountains.

you don’t know which one

to choose just yet.

they all call to you

with their own unique songs.

it’s okay to not know

which path is yours.

what’s important is that

you are taking the first step.

i looked in the mirror

and saw somebody beautiful

staring back at me

with wide, eager eyes,

lips curled in a smile

as if to say

finally.

finally,

you see me.

—that fateful day

oh, how i hungered

for a new beginning.

to move to a town

that didn’t know me at all,

to tell it

this is who i am

and not hear

but that is not what

we think you are

in response.

—on escaping your hometown

i will never forget

my first night alone

in my new apartment.

how i fell asleep

smiling,

dreaming of all

the possible things

i could do the next day

because for the first time,

everything about my life

was truly and completely

my own.

—limitless

how many more excuses

are you going to give yourself

every morning when you wake up?

how many more doors will you close

before seeing what’s on the other side?

how many chances at happiness will you miss

because you’re too afraid to reach for them?

—when is enough, enough?

sometimes

what looks like

a single step

is really a plunging fall

into a world

you never expected

to become part of.

—snowball

one of the best choices i made

was to open my mind to the possibility

that maybe the thing

i least expected

was actually the best thing

to ever happen to me.

you showed me so much

of myself.

you introduced me to

pieces of me i never

thought existed,

and i am so grateful.

but there was always

one piece i could feel

hiding in my heart

that you tried to stay away from.

and i would reach for it,

but i could never quite

grasp it.

after a while,

i realized that

it was a part of me

i was meant to discover alone.

and maybe it was curiosity

or maybe it was desperation,

but i had to know.

i had to.

—maybe one day you’ll understand

it is 8:27 a.m. on a tuesday. your alarm is set for 9, but you woke up early. in the extra moments, you soak in the feeling of the day. it feels different.

“today will be a good day,” you say, trying to start things off on the right foot. you taste the feeling of inevitability in the air, as though something has shifted overnight and a wheel has been set in motion. a small smile graces your face.