Comments for Harvard College Speak Out Loud http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/speakoutloud A Celebration of Spoken Word and Poetry Thu, 11 Apr 2013 15:37:19 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Comment on The Board by Naomi Lang http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/speakoutloud/?page_id=11#comment-20579 Naomi Lang Thu, 11 Apr 2013 15:37:19 +0000 http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/speakoutloud/?page_id=11#comment-20579 Lost I sometime think of what they would say now, If they had of known what I went through. Always laughing and smiling and making jokes, Joke after joke after joke. Pretending so hard I didn’t care that it hurt. So much. Still not good enough. It was nobody’s fault that they didn’t see the pain, After all it was hidden so well. But maybe they should have looked closer, or I should have tried harder. The expectations often felt suffocating, But this suffocation was all in mind. I think. Or thought. And hoped. Everyone else seemed to survive, I remember seeing it. Gazing at them, in awe, in jealousy and then looking Back on myself in disgust. I tried to remember what my parents always told me, That no one has it easy and every one struggles. But them, the others, they got through their struggles. I couldn’t. I remember every day waking up and telling myself, Today is a new day. Today I will shine brighter, work harder and be better than yesterday. And at the end of every day, all I had was a book of failed stories, Stories of failure. That haunted me in my sleep and in the daylight. Inescapable and internal. But still, every morning I’d tell myself, Let’s try again. Let’s just try again. There’s only so many times you can try again. But I told myself, Keep going. In a strange way, I found my greatest comfort in my friends But also my worst fears. The success, the beauty, the talent of them. Terrified me and Made me feel like I would never find fulfillment or be fulfilled. And in times like these, all I really needed was to see my parents. Talk to them, hug them, let my walls down because they knew everything There was to know. But they were so far away, away from the world I was in And this disconnection was so isolating. So frightening. It was like I saw all the colorful things around me, but when I came close It all turned to black and grey. Do you want to know the worst part? I knew it shouldn’t be like this. I knew I should change my thoughts. I knew, I knew, I knew, I just didn’t know how. I read all the quotes that tried to lift my soul, I listened to the songs that urged me to continue, I heard my friend’s compliments and congratulations. But still, the tears trickled down, slowly and silently, And never in front of them. Lost
I sometime think of what they would say now,
If they had of known what I went through.
Always laughing and smiling and making jokes,
Joke after joke after joke.
Pretending so hard I didn’t care that it hurt.
So much. Still not good enough.
It was nobody’s fault that they didn’t see the pain,
After all it was hidden so well.
But maybe they should have looked closer, or
I should have tried harder.
The expectations often felt suffocating,
But this suffocation was all in mind.
I think. Or thought. And hoped.
Everyone else seemed to survive, I remember seeing it.
Gazing at them, in awe, in jealousy and then looking
Back on myself in disgust.
I tried to remember what my parents always told me,
That no one has it easy and every one struggles.
But them, the others, they got through their struggles.
I couldn’t.
I remember every day waking up and telling myself,
Today is a new day.
Today I will shine brighter, work harder and be better than yesterday.
And at the end of every day, all I had was a book of failed stories,
Stories of failure. That haunted me in my sleep and in the daylight.
Inescapable and internal.
But still, every morning I’d tell myself,
Let’s try again.
Let’s just try again.
There’s only so many times you can try again. But I told myself,
Keep going.
In a strange way, I found my greatest comfort in my friends
But also my worst fears.
The success, the beauty, the talent of them. Terrified me and
Made me feel like I would never find fulfillment or be fulfilled.
And in times like these, all I really needed was to see my parents.
Talk to them, hug them, let my walls down because they knew everything
There was to know.
But they were so far away, away from the world I was in
And this disconnection was so isolating. So frightening.
It was like I saw all the colorful things around me, but when I came close
It all turned to black and grey.
Do you want to know the worst part?
I knew it shouldn’t be like this. I knew I should change my thoughts.
I knew, I knew, I knew, I just didn’t know how.
I read all the quotes that tried to lift my soul,
I listened to the songs that urged me to continue,
I heard my friend’s compliments and congratulations.
But still, the tears trickled down, slowly and silently,
And never in front of them.

]]> Comment on About Us by harvardsol http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/speakoutloud/?page_id=9#comment-20313 harvardsol Mon, 01 Apr 2013 03:46:07 +0000 http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/speakoutloud/?page_id=9#comment-20313 Hi Zwiggy, Please email us at harvardsol@gmail.com. We'd love to work with you! Do you live in the Boston area? Hi Zwiggy,

Please email us at harvardsol@gmail.com. We’d love to work with you! Do you live in the Boston area?

]]> Comment on About Us by Amanda Zweig http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/speakoutloud/?page_id=9#comment-20311 Amanda Zweig Mon, 01 Apr 2013 03:37:03 +0000 http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/speakoutloud/?page_id=9#comment-20311 Hi, my name is Amanda Zweig, (everyone calls me Zwiggy), and I am a spoken word artist. I am very interested in performing for/with you. Please let me know who I can speak with to most effectively accomplish this. Thank you so much for your time, Amanda Zweig Hi, my name is Amanda Zweig, (everyone calls me Zwiggy), and I am a spoken word artist. I am very interested in performing for/with you. Please let me know who I can speak with to most effectively accomplish this. Thank you so much for your time,

Amanda Zweig

]]> Comment on Contact Us by Ashleigh http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/speakoutloud/?page_id=52#comment-13784 Ashleigh Mon, 28 Jan 2013 16:54:57 +0000 http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/speakoutloud/?page_id=52#comment-13784 Hello. My name is Ashleigh and I am a co-manager for the student group FACES (freshmen arts collaborative experience showcase) alongside my fellow sophomores Aleja and Sam. To give you an idea of us and FACES, every spring we guide a group of selected freshmen with experience and/or interest in the arts to develop a final showcase for the week of ARTS FIRST. While we strive to aid the freshmen to improve their own talents, we also have a strong interest in exposing them to new art forms. And it is with this in mind that I am contacting your group now. We hold multiple workshops throughout the spring, and we would be very excited and honored if Speak Out Loud could lead one of these workshops with a focus on spoken word and poetry. The workshop would be in February or early March (date TBD) for two hours, most likely in the afternoon. We really believe this experience would greatly benefit the FACES members with their work towards developing both individual and collaborative art projects with their fellow members. We would just need 1-3 individuals to guide us in the basics....very low pressure and time commitment. We would be very grateful. Let me know if this opportunity interests you. Thank you for taking the time to hear my offer. Best, Ashleigh Hello. My name is Ashleigh and I am a co-manager for the student group FACES (freshmen arts collaborative experience showcase) alongside my fellow sophomores Aleja and Sam. To give you an idea of us and FACES, every spring we guide a group of selected freshmen with experience and/or interest in the arts to develop a final showcase for the week of ARTS FIRST. While we strive to aid the freshmen to improve their own talents, we also have a strong interest in exposing them to new art forms. And it is with this in mind that I am contacting your group now.

We hold multiple workshops throughout the spring, and we would be very excited and honored if Speak Out Loud could lead one of these workshops with a focus on spoken word and poetry. The workshop would be in February or early March (date TBD) for two hours, most likely in the afternoon. We really believe this experience would greatly benefit the FACES members with their work towards developing both individual and collaborative art projects with their fellow members. We would just need 1-3 individuals to guide us in the basics….very low pressure and time commitment. We would be very grateful.

Let me know if this opportunity interests you. Thank you for taking the time to hear my offer.

Best,
Ashleigh

]]> Comment on National poetry month prompt #1 by Winnifred Halliburton http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/speakoutloud/?p=350#comment-8432 Winnifred Halliburton Sat, 29 Dec 2012 17:33:00 +0000 http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/speakoutloud/?p=350#comment-8432 Some genuinely interesting points you have written.Assisted me a lot, just what I was looking for :D. Some genuinely interesting points you have written.Assisted me a lot, just what I was looking for :D .

]]> Comment on Contact Us by harvardsol http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/speakoutloud/?page_id=52#comment-470 harvardsol Sat, 08 Sep 2012 15:58:24 +0000 http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/speakoutloud/?page_id=52#comment-470 Great to hear from you Michael! Can't wait to see you today at the meeting. SOLove Great to hear from you Michael! Can’t wait to see you today at the meeting.

SOLove

]]> Comment on Contact Us by Michael Luo http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/speakoutloud/?page_id=52#comment-467 Michael Luo Fri, 07 Sep 2012 20:23:58 +0000 http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/speakoutloud/?page_id=52#comment-467 Hi I'm a current sophomore at Harvard who would love to join the mailing list and the organization after recently discovering the beauty of Spoken Word through my passion for hip hop! I can't make the activities fair, but I do plan on attending the meeting on Sunday. I was also present at Bryonn Bain's open mic and thought SOL represented with sick style! Hi I’m a current sophomore at Harvard who would love to join the mailing list and the organization after recently discovering the beauty of Spoken Word through my passion for hip hop! I can’t make the activities fair, but I do plan on attending the meeting on Sunday. I was also present at Bryonn Bain’s open mic and thought SOL represented with sick style!

]]> Comment on Louder Than A Bomb by Peter Vellington http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/speakoutloud/?p=260#comment-385 Peter Vellington Tue, 17 Jul 2012 20:52:20 +0000 http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/speakoutloud/?p=260#comment-385 It's great that we have successfully planned that great event.. I am looking forward for more such event in next few months. It’s great that we have successfully planned that great event..
I am looking forward for more such event in next few months.

]]> Comment on National poetry month prompt #1 by Ginger Marshall http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/speakoutloud/?p=350#comment-22 Ginger Marshall Fri, 20 Apr 2012 06:03:49 +0000 http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/speakoutloud/?p=350#comment-22 those days are always drenched in sun dripping plum juice on dandelion leaves the best days the days when bean bag chairs stuck to my thighs and the books never ended the best days with grass and the solid click of croquet mallets we never knew the rules grass and iced tea the best leaves of mom's mint diving dangerously into kiddie pools water fights my dog lapping up the ammunition the best days colored in scabby knees and neon band-aides the best way to spend endless summer chalking out outlines onto the driveway like placeholders i'm back to the best days remember my place in line second after the blue ball popsicles are ready the best way to freeze them with tiny plastic toys in the centers of each impromptu pop immovable figurines the best time to eat them before the juice drips down my arm the best days those days are always drenched in sun
dripping plum juice on
dandelion leaves
the best days

the days when
bean bag chairs
stuck to my thighs
and the books never ended

the best days
with grass and the solid
click of croquet mallets
we never knew the rules
grass and iced tea
the best leaves of mom’s mint

diving dangerously into
kiddie pools
water fights
my dog lapping up
the ammunition

the best days
colored in scabby knees
and neon band-aides
the best way to spend
endless summer
chalking out outlines
onto the driveway like placeholders

i’m back
to the best days
remember my place in line
second after the blue ball
popsicles are ready

the best way to freeze them
with tiny plastic toys
in the centers of each
impromptu pop
immovable figurines

the best time to eat them
before the juice drips
down my arm
the best days

]]> Comment on Louder Than A Bomb by Carissa Pianalto http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/speakoutloud/?p=260#comment-21 Carissa Pianalto Sat, 31 Mar 2012 00:43:10 +0000 http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/speakoutloud/?p=260#comment-21 I used to be very encouraged to search out this site. I wanted to thank you for this particular read. I used to be very encouraged to search out this site. I wanted to thank you for this particular read.

]]>