Some days I canβt deal with the boredom and restless It all leads to chronic feelings of emptiness And I asked myself Is it time for another depression spell? And Iβm annoyed by me, by everything I attend to whatever I think my brain and my soul needs Sometimes itβs music, sometimes itβs sunshine Sometimes itβs writing Sometimes nothing appeases the Gods of BPD And I just to deal with my emotional instability I wish for at least a week of tranquility within Instead of a pendulum of ever changing mood swings When will I finally get calm and peace?
he watches her as she sleeps and the emotions she stirs up in him this was supposed to be a casual agreement where only each otherβs primal needs got met sheβs not easy or convenient she has way too many issues and yet here he is starting to love her
me with my favorites-Olivia Rodrigo, Conan Gray, and Joji
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and I wanted to honor it by sharing my spotify playlist from my favorite Asian American and Pacific Islander Artists. I have a special connection to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders because I grew up in Hawaii. Some of my favorite people are Asian American like my childhood friends and my oldest son. Growing up in Hawaii, I listened to various Asian American and Pacific Islander artists like Iz, Hawaiian Style Band, Fiji, Kai, etc. IΒ had the pleasure of seeingΒ Fiji in a concert in Hawaii in the 90s. Recently, Iβve discovered other artists like Olivia Rodrigo, Conan Gray and Joji.
Β I started listening to Olivia Rodrigo in the summer and fall of 2021. To say that I was obsessed with her music would be the understatement of the year. Alexa still wakes me up with βGood 4 Uβ every morning (I havenβt figured out how to change it to something else-tbh-lol).Β Rodrigoβs debut album βSourβ really resonated with me on every level when I was going through a rough time in my life. Thereβs even hilarious videos of me drunk singing some of these songs (I watch them sometimes if I ever need to laugh-haha). I listened to Sour so many times, two of my sons know the lyrics to βTraitorβ and sometimes for fun, we sing it at Family Karaoke Night.Β
In the fall of 2022, I discovered Conan Gray. Well, itβs more like I became obsessed with his song βPeople Watchingβ and then I listened to the rest of the album βSuperacheβ and every single song resonated with me. Gray songwriting resonates to that angsty and angry side of me that feels so jaded when it comes to love. His songs βFamily Lineβ and βJigsawβ also resonate with me because like him, Iβve also had to deal with my own share of family trauma and feeling kind of an outcast. His personal style is also dramatic and I love that. In a way, heβs inspired to really embrace that side of me that tends to be dramatic. Other songs of his that I became way too obsessed with were βAstronomyβ and βHeatherβ. βHeatherβ also served as inspiration for a long poem I wrote in January. This might beΒ cringe but the video for βHeatherβ even inspired a couple of poses for a couple of pictures. Also, IMHO, Conan Gray is the most beautiful person in the world to me. My kids hate it when I tell them, βyouβre almost as beautiful as Conan Grayβ. They tell me itβs wrong for some reason but itβs the truth. Speaking of my kids, my middle son kind of lowkey hates him. Maybe itβs because either βHeatherβ or βPeople Watchingβ has woken him up one too many times.Idk. My oldest son thinks that my obsession with Conan Gray is just creepy because theyβre both the same age. However, I canβt control what makes my moody heart happy and gets obsessed with. Maybe one day, Iβll find this post cringe and be like wtf was I thinking but let it be a day far, far away into the future. Now letβs move on, to my next obsession, Joji.
Okay, so my oldest son introduced me to Joji sometime in early 2022 with the song βGlimpse of Usβ. I remember telling him, βthis song is too sad, it’s the kind of song thatβs perfect for unaliving yourself β (I know that might seem a bit extreme but that was my gut reaction to the song). Anyways, I didnβt start listening again to Joji until the winter of 2022 when the weather was cold and I was in a low mood. Something about his voice and his songwriting really struck a chord with the angst and sadness I was feeling at the time. Then, I had a major depression episode in January of this year and Joji became the soundtrack to that depression. I remember wearing my beanie every single day because I was too lazy to style my bangs and listening toΒ βDie for Youβ on repeat . Jojiβs music really got me through that episode and in this weird way gave me hope. Of course, I made the choice to go back to therapy during that episode. When I listen to βGlimpse of Usβ and βDie for Youβ I think back to the earlier versions of myself Iβm still trying to find compassion for and make peace with. I know that might sound weird but to me it makes sense. I also love the song, βSanctuaryβ so much so, itβs been an inspiration for a few of my most recent poems. Jojiβs style is also kind of dramatic which I really love.Β
Below is my AAPI Appreciation Playlist, I hope y’all enjoy it. Β
Old insecurities come to visit me again, they shake up my newly acquired confidence they tell me Iβm not smart enough and Iβll never be truly loved They tell me the only thing I have going for me is how sexy I can be Otherwise Iβm a waste of a person because of my bpd And I try to shut it all down and not once again drown Because I have made so much progress and have come so far Only to once again fight an anxiety and depression war but itβs daunting and exhausting not to let the negativity get to me So here I go once again, trying to calm down my brain from negative and intrusive thoughts by covering myself with self-love
Overturning my right to choose feels like a slap to my face it is my american dream of liberty turned into a nightmare of reproductive imprisonment because of my 3 unplanned pregnancies, because of my 4 IUDs birth control pills and a patch because I am a woman scared for my niece, for my future granddaughters scared for the generations of women who come after me and I sit here at a complete loss for words and understanding at a loss for how this could happen a fundamental right ripped from right before our eyes while we were distracted with the modernity of society a fundamental right ripped from us that will take us back to the 1950βs
People say I shouldnβt give up on love and itβs really just my bad luck But how do I explain How love makes me insane Itβs not the men I pick Itβs really me, me, me Iβll become the version they want me to be thinking theyβll stay with me- behave, swallow my words, hide my anger, implode on myself in the privacy of my journal but keep my mask of sweet princess on- but this never last for long something always happens itβs just a matter of when when will I get tired of hiding who I am and start being erratic and crazy When will they get tired of my bullshit and decided to leave and almost always, this ends up as an emotional catastrophe for me so Iβve come up with a solution Iβm going to make my newfound solitude a haven, a sanctuary to fall into give myself as much time as I need to enjoy the gift on my own company understanding that this isnβt an ending but rather a brand new beginning for me to write and edit my own unconventional love story
I wrote this poem in May of 2022 inspired by this “woke” white woman. Lol.
youβre nothing but a selfish and narcissistic attention whore constantly craving the limelight by posting long and stupid ridden Facebook statuses about the βtruthβ of the injustice you see injecting yourself as the voice of minorities it all unveils your world of deep seated insecurities and the irony of all of this is should you know better since youβre a therapist but apparently youβre still dumb as fuck It doesn’t matter how many degrees you have-you still reek of ignorance
Fuck you, fuck me, fuck everyone Is my mood stabilizer working yet? and fuck, fuck, fuck my brain chemistry it makes me so angry and crazy Sometimes Iβd rather feel nothing than constantly feeling everything Between my anxiety, depression, bipolar And bpd I canβt trust my brain to tell me the difference between right and wrong I canβt trust my heart if my feelings are valid or if itβs inner critic preying on my insecurities on day likes this Iβd rather disappear because being me gets so exhausting
your wretched goodbye brought a radical change within me left behind was the naive girl who fell in love with you left behind was the stupid bitch who made a home in you left behind was the insecure woman who made you her world the woman who stands before you made a 360 turn the woman who stands before lives life according to her own terms without apologizing, without accommodation, without toning herself down the woman you left behind no longer exists she turned into ashes and out of the ashes turned into a brave and powerful queen who learned that her love is the rarest type of jewel that she reserves only for those who love her and accept her exactly as she is
Your false love swallowed me into an ocean of oblivion and I almost drowned You consumed my mind with anxious thoughts of whether or not I mattered to you And thoughts of death visited me when you ignored me Feelings of worthlessness and emptiness threatened my wretched existence over and over again because of your inconsistent love But one day, I was enough by myself I didnβt need your pseudo love So I’m banishing you to the land of past lovers who never deserved the magic of my love
I still ache inside at times over past regrets, over past mishaps itβs when doubt in me starts to rise And I fear another emotional relapse but then faith whispers to me let go of your past and focus on your present and I float back down to reality and once again gain confidence my past and trauma never defined me itβs part of my heroineβs journey at times I may have been terrible but Iβve always taken accountability at times Iβve felt irreparable but itβs a false story I told myself Iβve finally learned how to knock out those thoughts of how awful Iβve been Iβve learned the art of compassion and grace for myself
you burned our novel of love because your courage ran out because you couldnβt fight for us- even when you told me over and over again how being with me made you feel alive how I was different from anyone you ever met none of that mattered because you chose your wife because she brings you security because sheβs your peace because sheβs comfortable because you preferred a static and predictable life with her Instead of living a life full of excitement and challenges with me
Deep inside of me is a treasure chest full of wonder, full of splendor Deep inside of me is a treasure chest full of sadness,full of sorrow Deep inside of me is a treasure chest full of love, full of laughter Deep inside of me is a treasure chest full of anger, full of hate
I feel raw with emotions Itβs like someone has ripped off the scab of an almost healed heart and itβs bleeding once again And while this time itβs not pulsating with anger and rage it still hurts like a small paper cut you canβt see but itβs still there