THOSE WHO SUFFER LOVE
I wrote this in my algebra notebook yesterday. I was pretty mad.
But looking on it, I really like it.
I'm proud to know what I do. I'm okay with what I don't.
This just shows a lot, I think.
Just read it. I know it's long.
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You know what punk rock did for me? What it was ABOUT for me?
Well, first of all, let me tell you what it WASN'T about.
It wasn't about anarchy. It wasn't about overthrowing the system. It wasn't about being rebellious. It wasn't about seeming "hardcore". It wasn't about drugs. It wasn't about being tough. It wasn't about being cool. It wasn't about not being cool. It wasn't about shaving my head or dying my hair hot pink and ripping the sleeves off all my shirts. It wasn't about being part of a 'scene'. It wasn't about wanting a 'scene'.
It was about change. It was about recognizing change when it happened, and not when it passes you by. It was about recognizing oppurtunity.
Punk rock came to me when I was choosing who I was. It came to me when I could have fucked things up.
And did I? I don't know. But I sure feel older because of it. I took what I learned, and I used it.
What it showed me?
It showed me that everyone's gonna be good at some things, and you'll never be better than everyone. That the only thing you can do is figure out what YOU'RE good at, and then do it. It showed me that happiness is the only thing worth working for.
Love what you do, love who you are.
It showed me that, yeah, things are gonna suck. But what you have to do is become stronger from it. That you have to take the bad things, the supposed disadvantages, and make them work for you.
It showed me that the scars are always gonna show. You pick whether or not YOU see them, because everyone else is already talking.
It showed me that people are just alwyas going to be people, no matter what label you slap on them. That even people who you're shoved up against can be the biggest assholes in the world. And that the key to survival is to find people who like you for YOU.
It showed me appreciation for what I've got. That you won't go anywhere by wanting things you don't have. And that you've got more in front of you, handed to you on a tray, then you deserve.
That people are never what they have or what they do.
It showed me that nothing happens without action. That you can't just sit and HOPE for things. That you have to go DO them.
It showed me that what's improtant is to be a good person, and be true to yourself. That people respect that.
It showed me that you never, NEVER insult people's personal beleif. That respect earns respect, and no one needs shit like that because we all live lives in the same goddamn place.
That people weren't going to understand. And sometimes that's just what you live with.
It showed me how beautiful ugly is. And how you're as pretty as you think you are. It challeneged what I thought. I challenged what THEY thought.
It said that everyone around you had a story to tell. And that you were never the first to feel what you did. That you just had to LISTEN, and bad would turn to good. That help comes from you not saying anything, but from letting others talk.
It showed me that trying was all you could do. And the smart ones are the ones who take their failures with them, so they can see what they did wrong. That sometimes it takes more than one or two tries.
Sometimes it takes a whole life full of trying and in those last precious breaths of air, THAT is when things snap into place.
And you say it's a BAD thing?
Well, who's not listening now?
I'm not asking for acceptance, I'm not asking for approval. Just recognition, just open minds, just respect. And that seems a price too high for you to pay.
Everybody deserve to live for something. You pick and choose til you get it right, and I'm only half way there.
Now tell me what the hell YOU chose.