Written by Kamilah Carter

At the core of my identity is a strong belief in humanity.
Despite the disaster and deceit seen on the tv,
The damage, the pain, and all that is broken,
I can’t help but perceive a beautiful complexity
In the fragile threads of our tangled lives.

But sometimes I have a hard time believing in human beings.
Individuals have broken my trust what feels like a thousand times,
And now I am among the walled in,
The hiding, the hidden, the wounded,
Those who are still relearning how to ask for what they need.
We are all reduced to this tragic state of infancy.
From which growth is hard earned, earnest effort:
Bravery.

I know that I am full of contradictions,
But please don’t mistake them for hypocrisy,
For my most valued lesson is this.
There are no rules, no paths, no adequate metaphors for life.
We make what we make of it, and that rarely makes sense
And though this may confuse the human mind,
It causes the human heart to flourish,
For logic is as likely to be meaningless,
As a serendipitous connection will be deep, despite the overwhelming statistics
That insist it won’t be.

And although I plan my life according to the rules I’ve declared mirages,
I do not live according to plans alone
I live with intensity,
Intense fear, hope, love,
And from this stems my vulnerability.
For it is easy to do things the easy way,
But what is the point of apathy anyways,
There is nothing there to gain.

So breathe deeply and contemplate,
Forget time and live at a pace that is both exhilarating and terrifying
And then slow down to take in the scenery,
For the landscape we’ve created is both treacherous and grand
And whether you think that that is beauty or tragedy, it is striking.
Live not for happiness alone, but for meaning, for discovery
For the camaraderie of sharing 99.9 percent of dna with strangers.
Walk not an easy way, but where you want others to follow,
And walk softly.
But don’t be afraid to break things either, for that’s the key to progress.
This is my philosophy.