Day 29 – Ten Things For My Younger Self

One, laugh honestly
Don’t disguise your pain with a wisecrack and a grin
But when you feel joy bubble up, uncork it like a 
Cheap bottle of champagne shared amongst friends

Two, be kinder to yourself
You are not the shattered glass menagerie left
Behind in a rusty cage, unloved and unwanted
By none save the scavengers of the miserable

Three, acknowledge your fear
There is a sensibility in your gut that bubbles
And boils when anxiety hits you in that sweet way
That makes you question everything you are 

Four, look for love in unusual places
Remember that life is not a movie where plot happens
You have to find and try and strive and claw for everything
If you wait, everything good will be lost to you

Five, ignore your fear
Acknowledgement does not mean that you do not
Ask the cute girl out, audition for the band, eat the weird food,
Drive to the new city, find an apartment, leave your life behind

Six, there is beauty in the quiet
When boredom hits you, tunnel into it and wrap it around you
An armadillo skin filled with the heavy white noise of silence
Inside of that skin, there can truly be something special

Seven, brush your teeth every day
No deeper meaning here, I’m just paying for poor dental choices
Made by younger Matt who ate nonstop candy and had 
No concept of good oral hygiene or flossing

Eight, chase creativity
Don’t let yourself go a single day without writing or singing
There is a color that is added to your skin on the days 
Where you spring something out of your head, informed

Nine, dance all the time
You’ll spend so many years afraid of how to move right
That you will instead be left on the side of the dance floor
In your ill-fitting dress shirt and your shoes that are a half-size too small

Ten, laugh often
For life is truly filled with things to laugh at
And when your laugh creases smiles into the faces
Of those around you, you will remember why you are here