By Lucas de Paula
Editor-in-Chief
In the dead of night, in a state of heightened emotions, I write to vent and express my innermost desires. I reflect on my life, my shortcomings and my goals. It’s through writing that I’m able to find catharsis in my identity and come to peace with all my triumphs and tragedies.
I’ve always been a writer at heart. In elementary school, I tried writing a superhero book with a few friends, to no avail. In middle school, I was enthralled by the slam poetry unit. In high school, I joined Rampage. It was only then I started refining my thoughts and using it as therapy.
Combined with my vibrant lust for life and my naturally introspective character, writing soon became more than unburdening myself from life’s chains; I began making wildly personal and poignant poetic entries. Not only do I write them for myself, but I post them to my close friends on Instagram to enjoy. It allows me to view my life in a third-person perspective, aiding me in my reflection process.
This is one of my pieces:
“I’ve never thought I’d be this busy, or have a job. I never expected those infinite afternoons to end. I never realized the sweetness of my childhood until I lost it. I never thought I’d be 17.
Take me back. When an hour was an eternity, when I got lost in my bedsheets, when the dark threatened to take me. I was happier when I knew less.”
Via writing, I explore themes of humanity and teenagehood. I realized the facets I exist in and the expectations I place on myself. I’ve even learned to fall in love with my limits. The paradigm of my life soon shifted; I started seeing every failure as a blessing to help me grow stronger and every success as a well-earned reward.
I began to perceive life like a film, each experience lending purpose to the bigger picture. I love my pain and discomfort with every word I scribble. I see beauty in it all.
Reflection through writing is expensive, costing me my deepest flaws and fears. But it’s through that expense I realized there’s value in how I frame things. Life is too beautiful for it not to be a coming-of-age movie.