As senior year has begun, I’ve had to take time to acknowledge how I am and what it means to take care of myself. It has been a messy journey of finally reaching out for help about anxiety and allowing my friends to care and love me where I am. As I sat, thinking about who I want to be and who I am right now, I wrote this.
The Way She Carries by Savanna Waddle
i stand,
to make them notice me.
to recognize my space
words demanded to be heard,
yet inside
my mind swirls,
i shut down
what she’s trying to say
about what we need,
she whispers “we’re not okay”
and my screams grow
as i yell at the world
and what it’s done to me,
but the cries i throw at the wind,
flow into me
i’ve internalized
the hatred of what has happened
and i blame my body
for the way she carries
it all