Princesses and Dragons
Location
When I was five years old,
My aunt would read to me every night before going to sleep.
I dreamed of dragons and princesses.
I turned seven and my aunt had left the country in search for a better future,
I was heartbroken and read every night hoping it was her
As if the words inside the book will make her change her mind
Although it never happened, the words soothed me into sleep
I didn’t dream of the dragons or princesses anymore.
I dreamt of my aunt as she waved goodbye.
A year had passed since she left,
I was eight and I got my very first book from her
It was sent all the way from Spain to me
It was carefully wrapped in a yellow gift-wrap
The note inside read “continue dreaming princess”
I devoured the words inside the book in two days
I re-read the book after I was done with it
I was no longer stuck in the past stories
I had a new book to read, one that meant possibility
My passion for reading had begun at the tender age of five,
I just never realized it until I was eight.
Books were my companions in my early lonely days of moving to New York
They were my teachers when I had no idea how to say a work in English
I was fifteen and sitting in my favorite class, English
Writing had now become a favorite hobby
The more I read, the more I felt inspired to write
Writing gave me a voice when I felt voiceless
But now I no longer feel voiceless
Writing is courage and passion enveloped in words and pages
So if you ask me what job would change my life
I will respond without a doubt, writing
Because it already has changed it
But just as the books helped me to dream
I want to write books that inspire,
to help others dream
To help change the page in their life
I am a writer for my college’s newspaper,
It has been a long road of self-doubt
Of looking around and comparing
That was my biggest challenge for a long time
Now I’m 22 and writing this poem
My biggest challenge is “getting there”
Having the financial support to finish college
But I haven’t stopped dreaming
And I haven’t stopped writing
My dream is to become a writer