a pep talk for myself

recently, i had to write a bio about myself in the third person and it was way more difficult than it should have been. you think you know yourself, and you think you're interesting, but then BAM, you're not.

but actually, i am.

i am a wildfire. i am an exclamation. i am a WILDFIRE!!!
i start with a spark and i burn until i touch everything around me. i come in and out with a bang.
i will never let anyone tell me i am anything less than wonderful, not even myself.
so be it. be brave, be big, be bold, be spontaneous, be independent. be yourself. stop letting the world make you hard and sad and lonely. life is good and the earth is a wonderful place to live with adventures to be had and people to be met and stories to be told. go big or go home. love deeply. tell the people you love that you love them. stop holding back for fear of rejection. if they reject you, they never deserved you anyways. work hard in school. work hard in work. spend some time alone. make some tea, put on beyonce, and handle it. your worst day is never so bad that you can't survive it.
so rise like the sun and burn like a wildfire because this is your time to shine.

///

"If you could only describe Abigail in one word, probably the best word you could use is wildfire. Wildfires start with a spark and then don't stop spreading until they've touched everything around them. Between balancing work, school, and social responsibilities, Abigail needs that big spark to start her and keep her going. She is always going from one new idea to the next, burning bright for everyone around her to see. Her goals are to move from an educator in the city of Philadelphia to serve on the City Council as the eventual Secretary of Education. Abigail wants to make a difference in the life of every person and child she comes in contact with. She aims to do so with a smile and laugh because her life mantra is to do more of what you love."

part 5

she had been swimming rapidly for as long as she could remember
stroke after stroke
kicking and kicking

finally, after what had been miles,
she saw land
so she swam faster and harder to the land before her
and when she got there, she realized,

this is what i have been swimming too -
all this time

it wasn't paradise, by any stretch,
but it was a new place to call home.
a new place, with a new season
she met new people and experienced new things
this land was a land of firsts.

after she had some time to process all of these changes,
and believe me, there were a lot of changes,
she began to realize something about herself.
she had a little bit of "i need to save the world" in her
and since she had started with saving herself,
she decided she wanted to save someone else.

so that was her life goal,
to save as many people as she could,
and that's how she ended up where she did.