Words of Advice to My First-Year Self

This submission earned Amber Por third place in the Synapse Storytelling Contest creative writing category.

I’m still figuring out the best version of myself;

And though it is a journey, it is a journey worth pursuing.

I’m still figuring out the best version of myself;

And though it is challenging, it is a challenge worth taking.

I’m still figuring out the best version of myself;

And though I am still growing

I am growing.

Learning and surviving,

I’m walking into a war zone.

Here lie the remnants of my past—

The pieces of me that I have let go, buried deep in the corners of my head,

But come back to haunt me in the depths of the night

When my mind lies awake, restless, breathless—

Damn, I’m gasping for air.

What a blessing and a curse it is to grasp onto the oxygen surrounding my body.
Time and space do not cease,

Reminding me that I am still here; I am still alive.
Human being flesh and bone,
My blood rushes from heart to hands and feet,
Pulsating and flowing, pounding at my chest.

I’m still figuring out the best version of myself;

And though it is process,

It is a process worth living for all eternity.