scars

I know a lot of different people.

Some are outgoing.

Others are quiet and reserved.

Some are quiet and reserved because they are scared,

they are living in fear,

constant uncontrolled fear.

Fear of what could happen if they spoke out,

if they did something different,

if they wore something different,

if they acted different,

if they even though different.

Maybe them being SCARED is a result of being SCARRED.

Maybe something happened to them when they did something different once,

just once,

and now they shudder at the slightest thought of it.

I've known plenty of people with scars,

in fact some of the most beautiful people i've ever known were covered in them.

From gunshots, to nut shots

broken backs, to broken hearts

torn acl's, to torn apart families

we've all had our fair share of hard times

but it's what we do with these experiences that decide what type of person we become.

We like to hide these scars, we see them as weaknesses,

like it tells people that we have been vulnerable,

that maybe we made a dumb choice.

But maybe instead we should wear them with pride,

showing people that "yeah, I ventured into the unknown once, I tried something new, I was vulnerable and I paid for it, but I LIVED"

I lived

I lived

I lived

Lets all try to be a little less afraid of what we have become.

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Some people are programmed.

Wake up

go to school

do homework

but every so often there will be a glitch in the system

a spark of sorts

something different

something that makes them realize that THEY ARE ALIVE

and then they slowly fade back into their routine.

They have a hard time recognizing that life is more than just a 4.0

more than their BYU acceptance letter

more than the car they drive

more than the shoes they wear

more than followers, likes and comments

more than everything they were PROGRAMMED to be

life is about making a difference

touching lives

relationships with people not phones

being spontaneous

lasting memories not 24 hour snapchat stories

Dates not DM's

leaving only footprints

taking only experiences

loving and being loved

pursuing your passion

time spent with your mom instead of under the knight.

crying

dreaming

falling in love,

and having your heart broken.

they don't know how to properly appreciate a spark when they see one

so next time you see someone who has been programmed,

try to put a spark in their life, 

you never know what they'll do with it.

After all, sparks are what got our fire burning.

Potluck poetry, a poem made using lyrics

Hey there,                                                                (Hey there Delilah, Plain White T's)
I was wondering,                                                     (Hello, Adele)
do you ever feel like                                                (Firework, Katy Perry)
going home                                                              (Hold on we're going home, Drake)
like
they'll never love you                                              (Like I can, Sam Smith)
but in
the moment                                                              (Lose Yourself, Eminem)
What you gone do? Lift your head up and keep moving, or let the paranoia haunt you                                                                                           (I, Kendrick Lamar)
We must                                                                   (We must be killers, Mikky Ekko)
Stay positive                                                            (Stay positive, The Streets)
Because                                                                   (Because, John Lennon)
being                                                                        (Almost like Being in love, Frank Sinatra)
different                                                                   (I'm Different, 2 chainz)
is
Just a part of life                                                      (Just a part of life, Jason Young Band)

CrAEoNs

I was given a 12 pack of crayons when I started kindergarten.
That year I lost my first crayon when chase and his lackeys made fun of me for wearing my favorite shoes.
My yu-gi-oh shoes.
The light up ones.
They stole that crayon and put it in their own pack because they didn't feel like their crayons were good enough.
In first grade I had to throw one of my crayons away because my girlfriend used it after she picked her nose in front of me.
AND ATE IT.
In second grade I lost one more crayon when I got in trouble for acting too childish.
Third grade claimed another crayon when I had to share a birthday with Anne, my nemesis.
She borrowed it and never gave it back.
Fourth grade followed that, claiming another crayon when I found out santa wasn't real.
I burned a whole crayon writing a note to a man who doesn't exist.
Fifth grade was rough, popular kids started emerging from the woodwork.
One of them pulled my pants down and made fun of my underwear because it had trucks on it.
He took that crayon and smashed it under his pokemon snow boots.
Sixth grade wasn't very much better, we moved 800 miles away and I had to make all new friends.
But eventually I did, and finally I got settled in to this new place.
I forgot one of my crayons in class one day, my 3rd favorite one too.
Seventh grade we moved right back to the same place we left.
I was packing like 30 pounds of babyfat and didn't know how to dress myself.
I left a crayon in my favorite pair of basketball shorts that went through the wash.
Eighth grade took another crayon when I wore another pair of shoes nobody liked.
Everyone that saw called me gay, then one day one of those kids pushed me over and stole a crayon.
Ninth grade was good to me, so good that it let me keep all the crayons I had.
Tenth grade was cool I guess, but I burned through a whole crayon taking notes in all my hard classes.
2 left.
Eleventh grade I let the girl I liked borrow her favorite color.
Then we kissed and she stopped talking to me.
I thought it was best if she just kept it.
Now I'm here, twelfth grade with one crayon left.
One crayon.
So much more life to live.
But once I graduate I get a lifetime supply of generic black pens.
Black pens to illustrate the rest of my life.
I think I'll hold onto this last crayon and save it for when I know I really need it.

Fears

Things I am afraid of

• the dark
• low phone battery
• girls
• awkward silences
• report cards
• Ted Bundy's cave
• Popular kids
• getting in the car late at night
• running up the stairs in the dark
• jumping in bed after you turn off the light
• people I have to impress
• tight spaces
• heights
• bad drivers
• someone offering me drugs
• graduating
• disappointing my parents
• getting pulled over
• running long distances
• forgetting school work
• school
• overcooked bread
• being bitten by bugs or small animals
• being alone in the woods at night
• paying for college
• getting rejected by girls
• getting kidnapped
• not knowing how much money is in my bank account
• losing my hair
• disappointing my friends
• being on old boats
• not being able to feel my phone in my pocket
• not being able to feel my wallet in my pocket
• 6 missed calls from mom
• rich people
• eating food cooked in a dirty house
• disappointing my siblings
• not getting my change from the vending machine
• raw chicken
• people missing lots of teeth
• rock climbing
• texting first
• old houses
• walking out of a store I didn't buy anything in
• ordering the wrong food for someone
• being disappointed
• satan
• swimming in big lakes
• cabins late at night
• overcooking my eggs
• coming home to an empty pantry
• jumping over fences
• having my feet hang out of the bottom of my blanket
• bears
• driving in fog
• getting lost in the wilderness
• calls from unknown numbers
• riding a bike down a big hill
• the movie the labyrinth
• being alone at night
• getting stuck in an alternate dimension
• kissing
• fast running rivers
• writing lame poems

Canned food

Most people have them. It's something that is usually in the back of our minds. Nobody usually thinks to them self, "I'm gonna go chow down on some diced chilies!" or "Dang, a mouthful of artichoke hearts sounds delicious right now". At least I've never thought that to myself. But I know I have hundreds of cans in my house right now just like that. I also know that when a couple of cans come together they can make something amazing.  We're talking some of the worlds best chili. World class enchiladas.  Award winning beef stroganoff. Life changing stir-fry. Mind boggling lasagna, and illustrious 7 layer dip. You see, we are all canned foods. Some of us are pickles, others may be tomato juice, blueberries, pineapple chunks, kidney beans, or even canned tuna. Sometimes it's hard to realize that on our own we might not be as great as we wish to be, but if we can find the right recipe and the right cook, we all become a gourmet meal so enticing and so divine that Gordon Ramsay himself would give his compliments to the chef. So on days you're feeling like a can of refried beans, just know you are a piece of some of the best nachos this side of the Mississippi.

Bricks to the face

My life has been full of bricks some good, some bad.
Some were handed to me on a silver platter, others thrown at my face when I least expected it.
Some hand forged by the gods on mount Olympus, others thrown together by satan in a matter of minutes.
Some came conveniently, others completely blindsiding me.
Some were asked for, others forced upon me.
All in all I think I've built a fairly decent structure with the bricks given to me.
But I've only just laid the foundation.
Just gotten a taste of building my future.
Life is about to start and I've gotta get my bricks together.
Otherwise I'm gonna get bricked right in the bricking brick.
Sometimes it really sucks, we have no choice but to lay the bricks we're dealt.
But that's just how life is.
The house we build might not be the best looking or the nicest.
But that doesn't mean it's worth less.
That just means it has something called character.
And thats something no amount of high quality bricks can buy.
It is a statement to everyone who see's the house you built that, "hey, I haven't exactly had the best luck but look what I have been able to make of that."
Thats what I want people to say when they look at my house.
You might have one good looking house but whats going to happen to it when a storm hits?
If you've never had to do anything hard in life you might find yourself in a pile of beautiful bricks.
Beautiful worthless bricks. 
And thats worse than any brick to the face, I'll tell you that right now.
But I suppose thats just how bricks work, isn't it.