“I am filled with unimaginable feelings and colors,

of happiness, of sadness, of dull and bright hues alike.”

As time wears on, he begins to keep aspects of the people he meets.

“the nothingness inside of me was just a canvas,

where people I meet can place their marks on me and can shape me into what I am today.

Bright-faced cheery intellects,

uncaring kids almost dripping with exhaustion,

and everyone in between.

they’re all going somewhere and they won’t stay long.

Here, they become more focused,

stronger,

more stubborn,

and more capable than ever before;

finish first and win,

no matter the late-night studying or hard work.

It thrills them and makes them want more.”

He won’t let you stop until you get there.

He’s proud to know he affected their lives in some positive way.

“...Or

these kids lose themselves.”

His greatest fear.

“What was worth listening to was often not heard in the voices,

but in the emotions;

that girl slumped over walking down the hall is radiating self-loathing,

and that boy laughing with his friends is feeling numb.

Those,”

he thinks,

“are the things worth listening to.”

He watches them grow up

even helps them to grow

and then lets them go.