I celebrate myself for staying true to all that is me,

And not conforming into all that is you.

Not letting your greatness overpower mine, I do not envy you,

I simply glance at my own reflection glaring back at me and come to the comforting realization that I will never be you; I am far too occupied being me.

 

It is a dark, rain-filled, gloomy day in the small town I call my home.

Smiles are masked in the crevasses of the darkness, engulfed by the sorrow and pain that even the best of us must endure.

While others wallow in their own pool of pity, I swim through it.

I swim and I swim brushing my fingertips through each stroke, shoving away all that stands in my way.

I feel the icy, water kiss each finger as it embraces each wave and every drop of the deep, mysterious ocean.

Free-styling in the sea of life, always with an eye on the light at the end of the dark tunnel, I find my hope.

My reason, my motivation, my stride to keep swimming being hope,

I hold my breath and continue swimming; knowing that there is a surface and I know I will reach it.

Days go past as the surface mocks me, calls me a fool for even the mere thought of reaching it,

Each day my lungs may grow weaker, while my fingers and toes begin to prune like raisins; I do not crumble.

Glaring at the future, I can see a better tomorrow in my grasp.

We all swim in this vast, blue sea as one.

We all wade through the blistering cold waters that freeze your whole body even with the slightest touch, and face sharks out to consume us for dinner.

We are in this together, swimming in the sea of life.

As I notice my brothers and sisters beginning to catch cramps in their lower abdomen,

That stabbing sensation curtails movement , and they start to drown.

Soon I feel as if I am a sinking ship, submerging with all of its passengers.

I swim, yet I feel my body sinking further and further down beside you while water fills my lungs until I am coughing up spurts of water and my chest is in deep pain.

I shed a tear because I feel what you have felt and I know the pain you have suffered because I have endured it with you.

 

 

I do not sit and float while all that surround me haplessly struggle and drown.

I throw them on my back and I carry them.

Slowing me down, making my job a lot more difficult, a smile still remains implanted on my face.

Each tooth shining brightly until it blinds the eyes, I smile.

When you fall, you will not have to get up on your own, for I will lend you my hand.

My spirit and soul will pour out of me, into you so that you may rise your own.

Shining a certain hope in the world that even the darkest people believe a second chance is waiting to be grasped.

 

I glide through the water so smoothly that not a sound is made through the splashes of the water.

Quietly I glide through the sea like a dolphin concentrating on each stroke and kick.

In the group of my companions I swim in the front, leading, and guiding all of the other dolphins without saying a word.

They observe and watch my reactions, and each stroke that I take so that they may do the same.

I was not born to follow, no,  I was born to lead, and leading is what I shall do.

Respect is what I demand from everyone and respect is what others receive from me.

If you looked down on Earth or even the United States alone, you wouldn’t see me,

But even from that far away you can feel the weight that my name holds.

Hardworking and steady, I am bombarded daily with the current of our generation, pushing and forcing me to bend to the waves of the ocean of society.

However, I never bend in the waves.

I split them and create a path for myself in the opposite direction.