I Can Let My True Self Shine

Plagiarism Has Been Around Far Longer Than The Internet. In Fact, I Had A Poem Published In 'seventeen' Magazine When I Was 15 Years Old. About A Year Later I Was Informed That There Was A Girl Who Used That Same Poem To Win A Statewide Poetry Competition In Alabama. It Took Months For People To Put Together That This Had Happened.

You Gotta Take Chances In This Life Or You're Already Dead.

A Relationship Ends Because You've Outgrown It. It Can Begin Again Because You, As Two, Can Fill The New Shape.

Fortunately For Me, I'm Still Evolving Into The Person I'm Supposed To Be. And Though They Don't Know It Yet, And May Not Come To Accept It, I'm Done Living By Their Protocols Or Anyone Else's. I'm The Only One Who Will Take Credit For My Successes. And I'm The Only One Who Will Take The Blame For My Mistakes. From Now On, I Live For Me.

You Don't Have To Agree With Me, But I Think The Heart Of Who We Are Stays Pretty Much The Same," Hope Said, "what Changes Is How Those Core Traits Manifest Themselves Over Time.