As strong winds blow The strong trees grow Instead of being ripped from the ground It's roots hold it, safe and sound

Roots are what grounds trees Just as our roots ground us Our experiences grow roots Our reactions, passions, and satisfactions grow roots

Your personality is your story But so are your scars Whether it's nurture or nature The impact is major

Our roots are who we are Just as the night has stars Just as gardens have weeds Just as our hearts have beats

Learn your roots Your history, Your bloodline It all comes into play Molding your life like clay

Every mark we earn Every lesson we learn Shape our roots into their own unique form The roots that stay strong, even during a storm

Your roots hold you up They're the strongest parts of you Don't ever feel like you can't let them show You have to keep allowing them to grow

Branches might break Leaves may fall At some point your tree will die But your roots will always stay right where they are

Count every way I've loved you You'll need more than your fingers and toes Count every way you've loved me The only number that grows is the inches of your nose

You've given me 10 reasons Not for what you think 10 reasons to leave you Because you're the reason tears leave my eyes when I blink

10 missing assignments because you always made me skip. 9 times I've rewrote this, to hopefully have it roll off my lips. 8 times you've screamed, every decibel I felt my heart break Please tell me, was it all fake?

7 times you've hurt me 6 times I let it slide 5 fingers to hold But everytime I tried, all I got was a scold

4 new mascaras, I had to buy For all those times you've made me cry 3 words, it felt like you never could say 'I love you' was all it would take me to stay

2 people it takes, to make a relationship work But where were you when I was hard at work 1 time I felt loved by you When you told me our love was 'true'

I see now, what I failed to before All I was to you, was a chore Now I know, I deserve so much more Than to just be another shell on the shore

Count every way I've loved you It's all I can do I keep playing back our fights in my head All of those tears that I've shed

Was it a waste? All those fears I faced? I learned so much Just from your touch

But now it's time to go I need room to grow I know it's time, for me to dry my eye For me to finally say 'goodbye'

I have a confession to make With everything that is at sake My family is fighting My friends are crying

Everything I've fought for On my knees, praying on the floor "God, help me" I mutter under sobbing breaths

The things that I've said The blood that I've bled I didn't have You in my heart "Help me, God, where do I start?"

I want to clean up this mess I've made I didn't deserve it, but You still stayed I'm so sad and just broken But You still call me beloved, a token

In my worst time, so afraid I heard, "your debts have been paid." God's got me, his plan is the way He reminds me: all I have to do is pray

On my knees, praying on the floor "I repent of my sins Please forgive me, God I have a confession to make."

Looking up at the stars Looking down at my scars I've worked so hard to get this far

Every mark is a reminder Of a time I thought would last forever But I've moved on, no matter the pressure

Whether my heart was heavy or light I've always put up a fight For the moments I thought would last forever

Looking up at the stars Looking down at my scars I want this moment to last forever

The breeze on my cheeks The moon shining bright Sitting on the balcony, looking into the night

It won't last forever, though It's just like a show There are more characters for me to know

All though I don't know what's ahead Instead of drowning, I will tread I refuse to be condemned

Looking up at the stars Looking down at my scars I've come too far, just to come to this far

I can't look at mirrors. Why? No, it is not because I'll melt or because I'm cursed. It is because I'll cry. I have been told I am beautiful my whole life, but how can I believe something I can't see? There are things that I love about myself, don't get me wrong. I like my side-profile and my lips; I have naturally straight teeth, which I am grateful for, but these things can't outweigh the things I wish I had. I pass girls in the halls holding hands with a boy and I can't help but think, "I have big hands, why would anyone want to hold them?" I look at girls with skinny, hourglass bodies and I can't help but think, "I would give anything to look like them." One of these girls is a very good friend of mine named Olivia. She has every girls ideal body, is just beautiful in general, AND shes kind. I sat down across from her today with my peanut butter and jelly sandwich and began to eat it while she talked to me. I noticed that she hadn't eaten any food, so I asked her where it was, then she told me she skips lunch. I was confused. I asked her why, and she said, "I struggle to eat." This confused me further, why would anyone with her hourglass figure want to skip lunch? I asked her why again and she told me, "I don't talk about it much, but you've been my friend for a while now and I'm trying to be more open about it." I stayed silent allowing her to continue. "I have anorexia." She looked at my face, but I made sure not to change my expression so she knew I wasn't judging her. She broke eye contact, then continued, "it's a disorder that makes me obsess over my weight and body. When I look in the mirror, I'm not happy with what I see. Before you tell me I'm skinny, I've heard it all before; people tell me that I have the body they dream of having, but I dont understand why. I am not fishing for compliments, I don't want them. I've already heard what everyone thinks of me. I guess my problem is that I don't care what they think of me. I'm not happy when I look in the mirror. I've been getting better at maintaining my self image. But it's hard, you know? Before you worry, I know that I need to eat, and my mom has been helping me when I get home, but I haven't worked around to eating at school yet." She looked back up at me and said, "I'm sorry to kill the mood," and chuckled. I laughed too to ease the feeling, but then had to make a point clear. I grabbed her hand from the table and she looked at her hand, then at my face. "I hear you," I said. At the sound of those words she broke into tears and I walked around the table to hold her. "I understand what thats like," she looked up at me, confused. "I avoid mirrors," I clarify. "I don't like how I look, so I avoid them to perserve my confidence throughout the day," I said with a little chuckle to keep the hard topic light-hearted. Olivia looked back down and rested her tear soaked cheek on my arm. "Thank you for understanding," she said. "You don't have to do this alone, Olivia," I said, and to this she started crying again. She gripped my hand with her hand and I just held her while some moments passed. "How about this?" I said as I let go of her and faced her, "lets make a deal." She didn't say anything, allowing me to go on. "Every other day, share some of my lunch with me," she was going to protest, but I interrupted. "I'm not going to force you, Olivia. I just want you to know I'm here for you. I can't change how you look at yourself, although if I could I would, but I can do everything in my power to help how you respond to those thoughts." I stuck my hand out for to shake and said, "do we have a deal?" She looked at me for a moment with a look of confusion, gratitude, and skepticism. She looked down at my hand, then back up at me and said, "yes IF, and ONLY if, we go into the bathroom the same days I take your food, and you just talk; a stream from the mind, for 1 minute. AS you look at yourself in the mirror. You can be negative, but I want you to say at least 2 nice things about your physical appearance." I put my hand down, and she put hers out. "Do we have a deal?" she said. I smiled and shook her hand. From there it begun. Every monday, wednesday, and friday, I shared my lunch with her. At first it was slow. It began with just an apple slice, but by the end of the month she's been able to eat half of my sandwich AND apples! I'm beyond proud of her. After lunch every other day, we went into the bathroom, and I talked. In the beginning, it was hard, Olivia very quickly learned my insecurities and she kept having to remind me that I had to say a couple positive things. We were in there for 3 minutes before I could put to words 2 things I liked about myself. 2 months later, I walked into the bathroom to perform the bi-daily ritual, when I walked in I felt a... peace? For the first time in maybe my whole life I said the words, "I look pretty today." Olivia walked up to me and hugged me. "I've been thinking the same thing about you everyday since I met you," she said. "I'm so happy you see it, too." Obviously I'm still insecure and look away from windows when I'm walking past them to avoid my reflection, out of habit, and yes I still look in the mirror and there are things I don't like about myself. Olivia also has some days where she'll go back to an apple slice instead of a sandwich half, but things are different now, and neither of us could have done it on our own. Those thoughts of comparison and criticism will never fully go away, but you can change how you direct it. For me, it started with a girl that told me to look in the mirror, and start my brainflow by finishing the sentence, "When I Look in the Mirror..."

I've always known how to name my feelings. I've grown up in a home with people that have raised me to be very emotionally mature. I don't recall when it begun, but I feel like everything that I once thought I knew about my feelings, is slipping away. The way she looks at me. Her dark brown eyes make my heart beat in a way I can't comprehend. I know love. I'm very aware of that concept... but is this what it feels like? Helplessness? Weakness? I can't stand on my own two feet; when she twirls her hair, my knees buckle. Everytime I see her laugh and smile I can't help but mirror her, I smile and laugh, too; she unintentionally takes my free will. Love should make you feel strong. Love shouldn't make u feel weak... right? Maybe it's not love. Maybe. Maybe it is something else. It has to be. I can't be caught off guard. This is odd; I've always known how to name my feelings.