Living
Is not simply just surviving

Sleep in till noon
Then sleep some more
The hibernating bear
Of your youth dying to
Wake up

Find a band
Or many bands
Go to concerts
When Moose Blood starts playing “Gum”
Join the mosh pits
Go crowd surfing
Get a big old bruise
The day before easter
Your face a rotting apple

Don’t judge something by its appearance

Eat ramen
Chips, and strawberries.
Drink Monster
Or red bull
But also drink tea
Or Calypso lemonade
The cornucopia of experience

Appreciate the little things
The way his smile forms when he looks at you
A simple thing traveling
From his face to your heart
With the ability to change your day.
The way your siblings
Used to look up to you,
Even when you were mad.
The overwhelming dread that
One day it will all disappear.
The way a grape tastes
And the sound the vending machine makes
When your snapple falls down

Look at the sunrises
The sunsets
The stars
And the way they shine
But also look at the clouds
And how the sun still
Manages to shine through them

Be around people,
Not the cookie cutter kind,
But the real ones.
Eat pizza in the rain
Take awkward pictures
And tell embarrassing stories
The ones no one really wants to remember
But you tell them anyway

Cherish the people you have
Inside jokes with,
The group that you can say
A word like “hot pocket”
And everyone will be short
Of breath and on the floor.
Because one day, one day.
You’ll have to move
And the connection you had.
Will vanish into that occasional
Text message with no response.
Everyone will get busy
And the last time you have
Seen your friends is 3 years ago.

Take off your mask
And smile
Not a fake one
Fake smiles are exhausting

Take every opportunity
Go skydiving
Eat an entire large pizza by yourself
Go on road trips with no destination
Climb mountains
Literal and metaphorical

Fuck others opinions
Wear that chain on your ear
Because you like it
No matter what
Your father thinks
Watch that movie you’ve
Always wanted to watch
Listen to the music you like
Despite the names they call you

Fall in love
It doesn’t have to be a person
It doesn’t matter their gender
Their background,
Their race or yours
Life is priceless

Get a dog
A samoyed
And name it bear

Don’t waste time
Yours, or others

Take
The
Leap
To get there
It will be hard
And absolutely terrifying
But it’s worth it

Be creative
Draw what you see
Paint a mustache on the mona lisa

Couch surf, go camping
Have long conversations on roofs
About anything and everything
Play hide and seek outside at night
Because the night is yours
There one moment gone the next

Know that it’s okay
To be sad
To be broken
To be lonely
Hope for the best
But prepare for the worst
Because life is what you make it
And it's not always going to be easy

But be yourself
Because at the end of the day
You are not them
And they are not you