Tag Archives: youth voice

Consumption

Consumption 

By Lucy Jones, age 15, Wales, U.K.

I wish to consume every piece of media that adorns the Earth
Every book, film, and song
Every day I panic, thinking about how little time I have
How little in my minuscule life I can truly consume
I wish to cry every tear and smile every smile
I wish to feel the most harrowing heartbreak and the most jovial joy
I wish to travel the world
I wish to play every game
I wish to meet every person 
In all my wishing, I never seem to take action
In all the endless possibilities, I take after none of them
In the end, all I do is wait
I wait for the right moment
Just the right book
Just the right film
Just the right person
When all I wish for is everything, I achieve nothing.

—Lucy Jones, Age 15, Wales, United Kingdom.

 

Life Is Never Fair

By Jacob Henderson, 18, Illinois.

People have always said life is unfair
But I don’t see it that way.
I think, “Where did I go wrong?”
But others say, “Don’t blame yourself.”

Who else can I say did it then?
Life isn’t a person nor is it a thing.
More of a saying, is it not?

Now others say life is perfect.
That’s because they have everything they could ever want—
A two-story house, a never-fighting family,
And so much more.

Now, I don’t have that luxury
I have to keep on pushing,
no matter what happens.

“Life” keeps pushing me down.
No, don’t say that.
Where did you go wrong?
Find it, then fix it or do it better.
Never blame others for your faults.
But once again I am told this is wrong.
And when I ask, “Why?”
They respond with:
“It just is.”