Be Yourself.

I've been thinking a lot lately about being myself. I find that sometimes I like to act one way to hide certain aspects of myself, or to avoid extending myself further than I normally would. Or other times, I am much too much myself, which also has the side effect of people only seeing a one dimensional view of me, and that makes it so they can't really see all of the facets of my personality. I think that is something I do a lot. But I've realized that doing that doesn't really help me out very much. It seems like hiding tons of things about who you are doesn't do you a whole lot of good. If no one sees who you are, then it's hard to know that someone likes you, and not just what you show them. Sadly, people can't read minds. What you present to the people around you is all they have to go off of when trying to understand you. They view you as what you show them. On the other hand, I also think that there are lots of things that should be kept personal. Nobody wants to be that person that says way too much about their personal life. It's no fun when everyone knows everything about you either. I'm learning that it is all about balance. Show who you are to others, but don't throw who you are at others either. While I was thinking about this today, a poem came into my head. I wrote it down and thought I'd share it.

Mask

I hide behind my mask.

No one questions, no one asks.

No one knows me, no one ever will.

But when the mask falls off my face,

Something beautiful takes place.

Someone sees me, and they love me still.

Be yourself. Don't hide who you are because you are afraid what people will think. if you are yourself all the time, then you can be sure that the people you do form relationships with will like you for everything that you are. That is my goal to work towards. And that's what I think about that.

Always Sincerely,

Jacob

Every Single Soul

So I have always had an interest in poetry. I just love how expressive it can be. You can say things in poetry that you can't really say in normal conversation. I like to use poetry to express feelings I can't really share just by talking to someone. I feel like I am a different person when I write. The way I write is much different than the way I talk. Michael Franti wrote, "Every single soul is a poem." Over the years, I have expressed my soul in lots of different poems. So in the interest of expression, here is a poem I wrote.

Beacon

My light shone bright as noonday sun
A beacon to them all
Until the day I met the one
Whose darkness seemed to call

I fell so far, I fell so fast
I couldn't even see
The spell of darkness seemed to last
And then I ceased to be

I didn't know how much I’d lost
How much I’d ever known
My days of light had been the cost
And now I was alone

It felt like no one knew my name

It felt like no one cared
Until the day at last you came

And did what no one dared

A child of the dark to save
To mend a shattered heart
Redeeming roads of light to pave
To find the better part

You saw the struggles in my life
You cared about my pain
You saw me overwhelmed by strife
My life a deep, dark stain

You saw that I was torn apart
Gave me a second chance
And through your light you pierced my heart
With your redeeming lance

You gave me hope that as before
I could be made anew
You showed me how I could restore
My inner light through you

Our light shines bright as noonday sun
A beacon to them all
At last I now have found the one
With whom I cannot fall

This poem is possibly the best I've written. It's my favorite. I have made a lot of mistakes in my life. I've made lots of bad choices. It felt like there was no way to get out of it. I felt so lost and hopeless. But then I really turned to my religion (I am a member of the Church of  Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and I love it.) and now I am happier than I have ever been. I feel like I have so much good in my life. I'm not lost anymore. It's the best feeling in the world. I wish it for everyone.

Always Sincerely,
Jacob

Oh the Thinks I Can Think

Hello there blog world! I am excited to finally be apart of the blogosphere. I really wanted to start a blog in order to keep track of my thoughts. I think a lot of random thoughts that seem to come from nowhere, so I feel like this is a nice place to organize them. Who knows? Maybe other people will enjoy them too. I've always thought that the blogosphere was an interesting place. There is so much information everywhere! There are blogs about everything. Food, music, pop culture, random thoughts... You name it, there's a blog about it. So I would say my blog would fit under the "random collection of thoughts" section.

In the interest of talking about thoughts (and because his birthday was just a few weeks ago), here is a quote from one of my favorite books:

“Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!”
  -Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!

Dr. Seuss is one of my heroes. The ideas he comes up with are just amazing. I was in Seussical the musical in my senior year off high school. So fun! Also, being an aspiring elementary school teacher, I really love his stuff. His books are just so much fun to read, for kids and for adults. I mean come on, who doesn't love Green Eggs and Ham?

I love the concept of "thinks". I think a lot of fun thinks. Some people might not get my thinks, but I might not get their thinks either. I can think a thousand different thinks, and that to me makes the idea of thinking so much more fun.

I hope you enjoyed this think, and hopefully there are many more to come.

Always Sincerely,
Jacob