Jose Garcia Jr.

I belong to two places. 

In the first, I used to be like a pencil, 

easily broken inside. 

No matter how much you tried to sharpen me, 

my lead was still broken. 

Like a piece of paper, I was crumpled up, 

stepped on, 

and thrown away. 

Then they tried to flatten me out, 

trying to make me whole again. 

But my scars were still there, 

still crumpled, 

no matter how hard I tried to fix myself. 

I felt like with all the space in the world, 

I had nowhere to move! 

They hit me with slow, 

hard jabs from my past, 

mistakes they said I couldn’t shake off. 

I was told that I can be anything, 

but I was still judged.

But a crumpled page can still hold a beautiful story, 

and I chose to start writing my own. 

The present and the future are what count

and I choose the world to which I belong. 

I love myself, even though others may not. 

I am Puerto Rican and Guatemalan. 

I love summer, 

the time of year when everything comes to a standstill.

I love the beach,

making vacation plans and hanging out with friends. 

Nature is my classroom. 

Basketball, soccer, and football reign. 

I am intelligent, surpassing your beliefs in my abilities. 

I am the positive ripple, 

bigger than any negative movement.

I am no longer broken, 

and I am no longer torn. 

This is my story, and this is where I belong!