The two things I value most are human expression and human connection, two aspects of existence which I find to be very intertwined. No matter where I am, what I’m doing, or my state of mind, I always like to document my thoughts, feelings, figments of my imagination, and especially poetic moments on a document on my phone. I call this sort of journal my “poetic ramblings,” and I enjoy not only writing in it to capture moments, but looking back on my previous writings and reliving these abstractly articulated memories, however bitter or sweet. My entries in this journal represent my most authentic self, and I believe that reading a single piece from it will allow anyone to know me and understand my mind instantly more intimately. Every year since middle school, I have been aware of various creative competitions, and every year without fail, I consider them, look forward to them, and then leave them for the next year as I become so busy. However, this is my last year of high school, and I am so excited to finally share my art, seizing the opportunity to make a connection with an audience, even if only with a single reader.

Masculine Femininity is a different perspective on lesbian relationships and how that even if the relationship consists of two women, gender stereotypes are still prominent. This peice means a lot to me as it's based off my own experience being in a relationship with another woman. I've never seen this topic written about before so I wanted to bring a little light to it and hope other people can relate.

This piece was written to be something much different from a traditional Christmas story.

This is just a story about 2 boys.

This is my experience of growing up short in a town full of really tall people.

The very first sentence has sat on my document for upwards of a year, but nothing's ever been added. Until now, that is. While writing all the descriptions, I had this vision of a grand castle, crumbling at the edges and lost to time. I struggled with what should be written on the beggar's sign for a while before a simple "God Bless" hit me like a truck. I wanted to tackle something with a more religious theme to symbolize my own dysphoria with religion, and I hope I did it justice with this short portrayal.

As I got older, I began to see a type of yearning arise in kids my age. It’s the desire to go back to the carefree days of our early years, when our only expectation was to be happy. In this piece, I try to express that feeling of watching our old selves being slowly consumed by a need for maturity. I want to encapsulate the heartbreak of teenagers being pushed to leave the familiar, comfortable life they knew as kids for a scary world full of loans and taxes. Though we leave behind the invincible feeling of our childhood on the road to becoming adults, there are many, many wonderful things that life has up her sleeves, waiting to be discovered with age. Leaving behind our old untroubled selves isn’t a requirement to grow up. Rather, our inner child is the one thing that we should always keep close to our hearts. I dedicate this piece to all my fellow high schoolers (as well as adults) going through nostalgia for a childhood that slipped away.

Only in the sudden spark of inspiration was I able to create this piece. Perhaps this inspiration burst from the experiences at my school’s lion dance club, organized by the LionDanceME organization. I would not have known the feeling of adrenaline if it were not for this club. Despite my fear of heights, the courageous acrobatics were thrilling to me; I can never forget the rushing feeling of that moment. It was wild. Such a powerful feeling that I still felt the rush for days. It urged me to capture its flow. So I did. It was the first time I could relay my emotions through writing. I seeped the feeling into each of the words and let them craft the story themselves. Inspiration-struck, it felt more like recalling a memory rather than writing a fictional creation. I almost believed I had lived through the moment in the story. Knowing exactly how it would flow and all the small details came to me instantly. And it truly amazed me, how powerful a work of writing can be, to have the ability to relay such emotions to another individual.

I wanted to write a short story about facing your fears, and the outcome that can come once you do. Facing your fears can make you feel free.

I talk in metaphors sometimes to obscure my subject. Honesty is a key part of art, but on the other hand, honesty can be defined differently. It just true to the writer and their experience. I try to write similarly to how my real self might reveal her thoughts. My goal with this poem was to tie all my thoughts into one central metaphor to make a cohesive narrative. I limited myself by not using any rhetorical questions (which I admittedly overuse). I hope you enjoy reading this!

In this poem, it’s not my intention to offend any group or minority, this is solely for the purpose of educating people on the atrocities happening in Palestine today. In this poem, I am not being anti-Semitic, but merely shining light on the genocide Palestinians are facing because of Zionist oppression.

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This poem is about the women who have expectations of wearing certain things or doing certain things that shouldn't be a normalized standard and this poem is a representation of what women are expected

I try very hard on my work

I wrote this poem about my experience with burnout and writer's block, and how all the different aspects and challenges of my life affect my writing. In the past, I haven't written many vulnerable pieces like this one, so this was a new experience for me. Generally, the inspiration for the pieces I write comes to me quite randomly, and when I get an idea I write it down to make sure I remember it.

This piece originally was just me writing about a random subject I chose, but I adapted it to sort of mix my trauma with a very extreme topic, Stockholm syndrome. Here I compared the effects of emotional and physical abuse to the way a victim of Stockholm syndrome builds that bond with their kidnapper. Stockholm syndrome is a depressing, dark syndrome and I decided to also write about it to sort of spread awareness for it. I wish I could say this is a piece I think is one of my bests, but it doesn’t really show my writing as strong as I wished. Though, it is one I like for the metaphors used.

I wrote this collection about my relationship with my mother, but it is also relevant to any relationship one might struggle with. Every rose has its thorns is the common theme seen throughout each poem, hence the title. Roses and Thorns takes us through the cycle of trauma. Through deceit and agony, recovery and healing will sprout from our wounds. This collection is all about these evocative experiences, the pain they bring, and the doorway to peace we must fight to reach. While everyone grows little by little as they age, so does our awareness of our surroundings. “Ultraviolet lies” is about being deceived and opening our eyes to lies we can’t seem to understand. When you're little, you believe anything because you don’t know any better. Whatever your parents say must be true, because why on Earth would they lie to you? Once you learn the truth, it's hard to just move on, because the truth hurts. “Stairway to hell” evokes heart-wrenching despair along with feelings of betrayal and disillusionment. The trauma we undergo leaves behind scars. But before our scars can scab, they have to bleed first, which the poem “old flames” is all about. Recovery is a long journey that not many can push through. In the back of our minds, memories still haunt us.

My goal as a writer is to make people think about things they've never thought about before. Sometimes, I wish someone stopped me from making certain decisions when I was younger.

This collection of poems is compiled from a selection of points in my life and essentially are open to interpretation due to this. To put it plainly, it is difficult to select a feeling for this time period as there is no timeline for these emotions and experiences. I would say my work is heavily influenced by music and stories where my perspective is somewhat intertwined.

This piece came from a very emotional place as it relates to a friend committing suicide. I tried to capture the vulnerability of two friends both going through issues with their mental health. One girl succumbs to the struggle while one chooses to get better, and the whole piece is an analogy to the water and how it can fully engulf and submerge someone. The metaphorical sinking, tied together, reflects the inescapable nature of these struggles. Instead of the typical dynamic of one person saving the other from drowning, both individuals are tethered to the same weight, sinking together, which makes this piece differ.