stream of teen spirit

i am going (exercise #10)

I AM GOING

• to live my life unafraid
• to college after high school
• to be a better person no matter what gets in my way
• to change my attitude
• to be the best person I can be
• to speak up for what's right from now on
• to change
• to help others
• to realize I'm not meant to be this unhappy
• to do things that make me smile and laugh more
• to live my life to its fullest
• to be who I should have been before before I changed to be what I thought was me ( but wasn't)
• to stop pretending I'm ok when I'm not
• to find happiness
• to forgive my mom for being grumpy 24/7
• to be a better person after I forgive her
• to be more vulnerable with others

~ shelby, (chester, vt)

exercise #10

Where will you be in 6 months?

In a year?

In 2 years?

In 5 years?

Don't listen to what anyone else is telling you, just listen to your heart.

i am going (exercise #10) (podcast)

BRENDAN ~ I AM GOING ~ PODCAST

~ brendan mcpherson, 15, (westminster, vt)

i am going places (exercise #10)

I am going to be myself, I am going to stay out of drama from here on out.  I am going to give in to his every need.  I am going to let them think they are winning, while I plan my next move.  I am going to be the best thing that's ever hit the streets, the most daring person you'll ever meet, me myself and I.  I am going to tell you straight up how it is.  I am going to start doing things on my own, listening to my heart and not what others say, behaving for my mom, and get better friends to hang out with.  No more drama filled guys.  I am going to be with the guy next door, the one who will love me back when he knows I'm in love with him too.  I want people to think I am going to be: beautiful, smart, sarcastic, everything they imagine to be perfect.  I am going to be a changed person in a couple of years.  I will have graduated from high school, into college, having kids, getting a job.  I am going to fall in love, be happily married, have loving relationships with people.  I am going to have some fun while I can, do things I've never tried and be spontaneous.  I know that when I grow up I am going places.

~ k. kennett, 14 (chester, vt)

i am going around in circles (exercise #10)

I am going in circles,

spinning out of control.

I try to go forward, but it pushes me

aside.

Around and around I go,

trying to push back, but I just feel

so tired.

I am going to inspire, to love,

to lead.  I've heard this all my life,

that I am special, and I'm going to do something great with my life.

So why do I doubt that?

I am going nowhere, my life is stuck

in a rut.  The same thing over again.

I always find ways to get out,

but they always break in front of

me.

I am going back to my past,

back to the place I thought I lost,

that I'd never see again.

I am going forward, while moving

in place.  The things I want in my

sight, just outta reach.  I reach

my fingers, lean my body, trying,

failing, again.

I am going to be strong. To be

independent and not let anybody:

my mom, my dad, my friends,

anybody, nobody tell

me otherwise.

I am going to be me.

The words are in my head,

so why is it so hard to make

those words into actions?

~ taylor lefevre, 16, (chester, vt)

i am going to a place (exercise # 10)

I am going to a place where I can be myself.  I am going where there are only good things.  I am going to a place called home.  I am going to a place where I can be happy and no one can pick on me.  I am going to a place where I can talk to anyone and I can trust them.  I am going to a place where I can have fun and travel anywhere I want to without anyone thinking I am weird.  I am going to a place where I know I will be loved and cherished.  I am going to a place where I can tell my feelings to someone and they won't judge me.  I am going anywhere that I want to go.  I am going to a place where I can be myself and live, learn and laugh all to myself.  That is where I am going.

~ marissa varga, 16, (chester, vt)

i am going (exercise #10)

I am going crazy in this place where no one seems to care,

where your fears are your reality and the truth kills your soul.

I am going to change that - change everything to what I want it to be. To what it should be.

I am going...

to college, no matter what it takes.

to make things better

& to learn from my mistakes.

I am going...

to forget and not care about what you say or do.

to live like there is no tomorrow and forget

about all my sorrows.

I am going... to remember the good times, and forget the bad.

I am going,

to be who I want to be.

~jessica h., 14, (chester, vt)

JESSICA ~ I AM GOING ~ PODCAST

you can never learn enough (exercise #10)

Five months seems like a large chunk of time, but the reality is that it passes damn fast.  So then, what of it?  Really, there's not much to be said; my goals are set and the inevitables have been accounted for.  So then, what has been set?

• College. I'm going to be a senior for Chrissakes. You apply to  college in the fall. Jesus.
• Job. Much as I dislike capitalism.  I need cash.
• License. No more ride-mooching.
• Buying a bass.  My musical muscles must not be allowed to atrophy.
• Older and wiser. You can never learn enough.

All very predictable, but I'm not going to lie about my plans.  Some things are just that concrete and straightforward.

~ duncan sullivan, 17, (new hampshire)

i am going (summer version) (exercise # 10)

I am going to a place of long lazie summer days of ignoring calls to work in the

scorching sun and waiting for rain.

I am going to a place of mourning

where the pain never goes away

as we wait for rain to wash

us away.

I am going to those hot, hazie, lazie,

summer afternoons spent in the

cemetary making dazie chains chains for head

stones.

I am going to warm summer nights

filled with music and fine light, dancing shadows,

rolling mist

I am going to the forest's cool embrace

calling me back to the trees, rivers

and rocks.

I am going home

to where castles float in the sky

and faeries dance in mushroom rings

where angels and demons dance and

sing around my fire

where we are all kings and queens

and sorrow is a distant thought.

I am going to the place where we can fly and all is good

But not yet, not right now,

I am going to those magical days but

first I have to find the road to that

place.

~ lindsay osgood, 15, (chester, vt)

next 10 years (exercise #10)

In the next 10 years . . .

I want to be myself, 100%, as I am.

I want to have taken that one big risk, and still have him by my side to prove it,

or not, and have the scars to make me stronger.

I want to stop being so afraid, to always jump.

I want to chase my dreams, without holding back, or letting the world stop me.

I want to make a change, a change in the world.  To make the world a loving, open place.

I want to be able to let go of things that hold me back, things that have been holding me back for so long.

I want to truly be the change I wish to see in the world - full of love and truth and doing what I KNOW in my heart is right.

I want to really believe I can do it, and one day wake up, and I'll have done it.

~ hanley murray, 14, (westminster, vt)