Let's Compare

 

  Today I opened up my old writing notebooks looking for inspiration. Out of my 11 books, I found something that hit me hard in book #1. It gave me a glimpse into my 12-13-year-old self and how I used to cope with life. I essentially lived in my head. I decided to rewrite the piece from the view of my 20-year-old self. I'll show you the original and the one I wrote today. 

12-13-year-old self: 

"I feel so happy in my mind, 

And I can't understand why. 

I am so excited in every way

To be free and happy.

The days are bright and I am light

And glad to be a part of them. 

But when I'm sad I feel so bad 

The days just drag me down.

The days are gloomy to see me now

That I am now downhearted." 

20-year-old self:

I feel so happy in my mind,

Hiding from my daily life. 

It seems so freeing at the present,

Then later sad and unrealistic. 

Days in my mind seem bright and light 

Until reality sets in. 

I felt so happy in my mind 

Until I realized that living there

Is a sad desolate place,

Where I create fake realities 

To pass time in my real life.

How sad it is to think 

That we hate our lives so much 

We create fake ones,

That we can never live up to. 

Instead of being present in each moment,

And looking at the joys 

In our precious lives. 

How can we be free and happy 

If we are creating a fake reality 

That we never will be able to achieve? 

There is so much joy or peace 

In living in the mind 

Only depression and disillusion.

Written by Evelyn Creon