emily's journal

[emilyvegajournal]

[emilyvegajournal]

Daily Train Ride (Wrote this almost two years ago! Haha!)

You're standing on a packed, steamy train, holding onto the silver slippery bar as if your life depended on it.

You look around and despise every person who is comfortably siting, while wishing you could sit.

You begin to dose off and that's when the unconscious thoughts hit.

You remember it's going to rain later today, you don't have an umbrella, oh dammit.

Did you even wear the right shoes to begin with?

You stare down at your toes as they poke out your sandal.

You pull down your heavy book bag off your shoulder from its handle.

Attempting not to push anyone, you stand at an angle.

You look around at all the sullen, sad morning faces.

Thinking about where they might be going, like what places?

You see a kid poking at his braces.

A man in a suit trying to tie his laces.

A girl with her iPhone taking selfies while making weird faces..

scanning over the people around you,

You make eye contact with someone, they seem familiar but you look away. Like honestly, what could you say?

"oh heyyyy"? 

It's too early in the morning to be social anyways.

And what if you don't even remember their name.

It would make the whole conversation awkward and you'd have no one to blame

But yourself.

Yourself..?

You're in an overly sized shirt and lose shorts

Your hair is uncontrollable

And you realize..your a mess

But in all honesty

You could care less

Who is there to impress?

Nobody.

Except that one cute guy siting allll the way at the end the cart

Who just happens to be too far

And you'll probably never see again in your life

But you never know, you could be his wife.

Stop.

You're getting way too ahead of yourself

And today out of all days, you sort of look like an elf

The train is hot.

The sweat is dripping down everybody's faces

Not even the AC can cure it.

And at this moment, you really wish you were old enough to get your permit

So you wouldn't have to take the train

And nearly go insane. 

But you know it won't happen any time soon,

So you wait impatiently.

And to be honest you know you'll only remember this train ride faintly.

Because you take the train daily.

[visual-poetry]

painting is silent poetry, poetry is eloquent painting

simonides of ceos (c. 556 – 468 bc)

[visual-poetry]

»if you see anything interesting…« by mads lynnerup

[visual-poetry]

[emilyvegajournal]

CLICK THIS TITLE TO SEE: My group spoken word performance at coffee house!

Click the title/link to see an abridged version of a spoken word piece written by Suli Breaks called “I Will Not Let An Exam Result Decide My Fate” performed by Ryan, Terrell and I! Enjoy!

[emilyvegajournal]

Elaine Del Valle is amazing!

I'm still figuring out what I should include in my blog, and I think a quick review of a show I saw is still appropriate, regardless of it being poetry or not. 

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Yesterday night I got the amazing opportunity to see Elaine Del Valle, an amazing Puerto Rican actress, perform her one women show called "Brownsville Bred". This coming of age show chronicles Elaine Del Valle's life in Brownsville, Brooklyn, one of the most notorious neighborhoods in NYC. During her hour and half performance, you hear how she crafted her identity among her Puerto Rican heritage and her booming love for hip hop.

I cried, laughed, smiled and have never been so proud of being Puerto Rican. The way she spoke with her boricua accent, the energy she put into her performance and the stories that reminded me of my life had me relating to her in so many ways. She absolutely rocked it. She was so full of life and had the whole audience feeling the emotions she did. 

But what made me so proud is the fact that last night, salsa, the sound of congas and Marc Anthony boomed down the halls of Riverdale, a school where all you here is house and edm music.  It made me proud of being Puerto Rican. And it made me proud that such a beautiful, talented women like her was doing such an amazing job.

Afterwards, I spoke to her and she was so humble and sweet. We became friends on Facebook and that's how you know its official: we're definitely primas (that means cousins in spanish; in Puerto Rico, when you become friends with someone, they become family). I'm so glad I saw her, and I hope to one day be as fabulous as she is! \

(Elaine on set of Brownsville Bred!)

[audreysickburn-deactivated20220]

Just wanted to add: My hair used to become the subject of discussion amongst my peers during high school , it was infuriating.  I didn’t have long hair growing up, but I wore extensions and there were so many people who pulled my hair, without warning, just to see if it was real.  Like really, it was none of their damn business.

[emilyvegajournal]

Absolutely love this!

[cant-sleep-bo-peep]

[emilyvegajournal]

It's okay to be alone

No one along side you to hold your hand

No one to be with or talk too when the days are bland

No one to lean on when things get tough

No one to hold onto when the road gets rough

You've got no one but yourself 

And sometimes, you realize

You truly don't need anybody else 

[justart-justme]

[emilyvegajournal]

Haiku of the Day

had a long hard day

must take a breath of fresh air

relax, settle down

[emilyvegajournal]

Don't Let Media Define Your Beauty

by Emily (aka me!)

So many billdboards, shows, commercials, and movies that consume your mind

As you see them, you’re slowly leaving your values behind

You accept that if this is what media portrays as beautiful

Why try thinking otherwise?

  Instead of seeing the beauty you already possess,

You compare yourself to these, tall, thin, beautiful women who can easily slip into a size 0 dress

You question yourself and your beauty, asking

Why isn’t my waist that tiny?

Why isn’t my hair that straight and shiny?

Will my face ever be so clear?

Your conscience tells you, never, it won’t happen.

Because as much as you already watch your calories, straighten your hair and smear makeup.

Nothing will ever be able to fix it up.

You will never be beautiful enough.

  Or at least that’s what the media makes you believe

  America’s Next Top Model?

Generating unrealistic and unhealthy dreams since 2003

Make Me a Supermodel?

Making beauty a competition, right before your eyes to see

Models on the Runway?

Creating a body image that a lot of young girls wish and long to achieve

  But what you don’t really know about are the hours of Photoshop that distort these images

Making these women look beyond the average

Longer necks, fuller hair, straighter teeth

All the little edits that add up but you’ll never be able to see

Comparing yourself to a computer made woman who would never exist

And defining beauty through media's check list

So many teenage girls my age always question their beauty through what they lack

But I just want a minute for all of us to take a step back

And appreciate every flaw we think we might have

Because regardless of any flaws we see,

We all need to appreciate ourselves more, including me

And like it's been said before, we are beautiful, no matter what anybody says

So please,

Stop letting what the media portrays, mess with our heads

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I wrote this poem in response to a documentary I saw called "MisRepresentation" which focused on how women are portrayed in media. The movie stresses the idea that women are constantly used as trophies or secondary characters in many shows and commercials we see on a daily basis. Other times, advertisements use women as sexual objects to advertise a product. And I've come to realize that watching these shows and seeing these signs can really have young girls like myself, stressing over the idea that we need to be as beautiful as what we see in media. I truly think that we should stop comparing ourselves to what we see, but rather accept our own beauty regardless of how we look and what we wear.

[emilyvegajournal]

Introduction

I never thought I'd start my own poetry blog until my mom told me that my poems were worth sharing with others. Her encouragement and support motivated me to keep writing. But I've realized that my words are useless when they're crammed on my phone's notes section and I've decided to document my poetry/spoken word adventures and to share my words and thoughts with you all.

I truly think that poetry is a universal language. Just by listening to someone perform a 3 minute piece can give so much insight to who they are and what they're passionate about. Or it might just shine a light on something you've never thought of before. I absolutely love that feeling when some one absorbs you in their words and your mind sparks with overflowing thoughts. That is one of the reasons why I'm constantly writing. I hope to relay that feeling to people who read and hear my poems.

When I see something, I write it down. When I hear a great quote, I record it. I write a line or two when a random thought comes up. And over time my poems have evolved and become a little bit of everything. On this blog, I hope to write a poem every week and post it. Maybe include some quotes and videos of my favorite poets. I guess you'll just have to wait and see how this poetry blogging adventure goes and I truly hope you enjoy!

Thank you, Emily