By Laily Berjis, TIWP Student

I am full of society carving its expectations into my skin,
yet starving for the freedom to exist in my own body.

I am full of every day feeling like a race
yet starving to let go of the “doing” and
learn how to just be.

I am full of reading every room, absorbing every emotion in the air,
yet starving to feel the ground beneath my feet.

I am full of a world that makes us feel like we have to compete against each other,
yet starving to realize we are all just different flowers growing in the same garden,
and we don’t have to fight each other to bloom.

I am full of swallowed words,
yet starving to let my own truth breathe.

I am full of carrying the invisible emotions of a disconnected world,
yet starving to remember who I am.

I am full of living in my head, overthinking
yet starving for a connection where my mind and body speak the same language.

I am full of trying to please a society that is designed to keep us empty,
yet starving for the self-love that has been waiting inside me all along.

I am full of ignoring what my body is telling me to keep doing,
yet starving to slow down and listen to the
voice that knows what I need.

I am full of looking at screens and comparing my life to people I don’t know,
yet starving to look around and be present with the world around me.

I am full of taking on everyone else’s bad moods and heavy emotions,
yet starving to find my own anchor.

I am full of the world’s endless noise telling me who I should be,
yet starving for the beautiful silence where my soul finally speaks.

I am full of trying to please a world that is never satisfied,
yet starving to look at my own reflection and know that I am already enough.