If I should have a daughter…“Instead of “Mom”, she’s gonna call me “Point B.” Because that way, she knows that no matter what happens, at least she can always find her way to me. And I’m going to paint the solar system on the back of her hands so that she has to learn the entire universe before she can say “Oh, I know that like the back of my hand.”
She’s gonna learn that this life will hit you, hard, in the face, wait for you to get back up so it can kick you in the stomach. But getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air. There is hurt, here, that cannot be fixed by band-aids or poetry, so the first time she realizes that Wonder-woman isn’t coming, I’ll make sure she knows she doesn’t have to wear the cape all by herself. Because no matter how wide you stretch your fingers, your hands will always be too small to catch all the pain you want to heal. Believe me, I’ve tried.
And “Baby,” I’ll tell her “don’t keep your nose up in the air like that, I know that trick, you’re just smelling for smoke so you can follow the trail back to a burning house so you can find the boy who lost everything in the fire to see if you can save him. Or else, find the boy who lit the fire in the first place to see if you can change him.”
But I know that she will anyway, so instead I’ll always keep an extra supply of chocolate and rain boats nearby, ‘cause there is no heartbreak that chocolate can’t fix. Okay, there’s a few heartbreaks chocolate can’t fix. But that’s what the rain boots are for, because rain will wash away everything if you let it.
I want her to see the world through the underside of a glass bottom boat, to look through a magnifying glass at the galaxies that exist on the pin point of a human mind. Because that’s how my mom taught me. That there’ll be days like this, “There’ll be days like this my momma said” when you open your hands to catch and wind up with only blisters and bruises. When you step out of the phone booth and try to fly and the very people you wanna save are the ones standing on your cape. When your boots will fill with rain and you’ll be up to your knees in disappointment and those are the very days you have all the more reason to say “thank you,” ‘cause there is nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline no matter how many times it’s sent away.
You will put the “wind” in win some lose some, you will put the “star” in starting over and over, and no matter how many land mines erupt in a minute be sure your mind lands on the beauty of this funny place called life.
And yes, on a scale from one to over-trusting I am pretty damn naive but I want her to know that this world is made out of sugar. It can crumble so easily but don’t be afraid to stick your tongue out and taste it.
“Baby,” I’ll tell her “remember your mama is a worrier but your papa is a warrior and you are the girl with small hands and big eyes who never stops asking for more.”
Remember that good things come in threes and so do bad things and always apologize when you’ve done something wrong but don’t you ever apologize for the way your eyes refuse to stop shining.
Your voice is small but don’t ever stop singing and when they finally hand you heartbreak, slip hatred and war under your doorstep and hand you hand-outs on street corners of cynicism and defeat, you tell them that they really ought to meet your mother.”
― Sarah Kay
The one person that has molded me into the person I am today, is my mom. My mom since she ever found out of my existence, she put in significant amounts of efforts to make sure I was healthy, loved and protected. The theme of this poem is growing up, becoming the person you were destine to be and how much of an impact people make on you as you are young. Primarily those who have looked after you since birth have one of the biggest impacts on who you are. This poem “If I should have a daughter “by Sarah Kay reminds me of how my mom treated me, the woman that has filled my life with consistent support, love and enjoyment. Many of these attributes and lessons that Sarah Kay beautifully describes, I would want to teach my daughter and much of what my mom has taught me. I stumbled across this poem/spoken word, through TED talks way before this assignment was given to me. I instantly fell in love with the way she spoke,”I want her to see the world through the underside of a glass bottom boat, to look through a magnifying glass at the galaxies that exist on the pin point of a human mind.” Using figurative language beyond my imagination and metaphors in which you would have to think hard on before you fully understood it. Her artistic language has created this incredible and touching poem. She describes in the poem, what she wishes for her daughter, what she wants her daughter to accomplish and what she wants her to always know. The 3 main topics that tie in with this whole poem is Adventure,Bravery and Optimism in which develops over time. This is what I would want my daughter to know…
Be Adventurous and be eager to discover more then what is obvious and apart of everyday life. Having curiosity, is never bad it sparks passion to learn. you want to live, being well educated and experienced. You have the power to be incredibly knowledgeable. So you use this gift of memory to the fullest of your capabilities. To fill your mind with things that you completely fascinate you. The life you live starts as a blank canvas, the more you experience and develop the more beautiful it becomes. The world is what you make out of it, don’t be afraid to take chances and try new things. Dare yourself each day to do a little more and to try a little better. I want you to look back on your life, amazed in what you have accomplished. Life is so precious and can be taken away at an instant, so I want you to live with inspiration and purpose.
Be Brave, pain is inevitable it will happen right under your noise then smack you right in the face when you least expect it. There is so much hurt that you will be face with. Having the very people you care about or the ones you are trying to help, try to stop you from doing so. Have pain slowly creep up on you, lurking around trying to find the ability to crush you. But what makes you strong is how you recover from that shocking blow. Yes it will take time, maybe several years of hurt for you to build the strength to deny pain the power to hurt you. But know I am always here, you don’t have to face it alone. Courageousness and bravery, are fueled by support and confidence. Having people that believe in you and who will help you will build up your strength. Requiring help by someone doesn’t make you less strong, it makes you even more in the end. Know always you will never be alone, if you get lost you will always be able to find your way back to me. To accomplish great things, you can’t be stubborn. It’s possible to think of thoughts that could help save millions, but its only possible to do so if you have people working together to make it happen. Because we are stronger together then standing alone.
Be Optimistic and Stay True, I want you to stay positive during challenging times, because that might be the only source of hope you will have to get through it. Believe that things will be better and improve even though it may seem it will end the complete opposite. To discover all the goodness in the world with an open mind. Find the beauty within yourself and others with no judgments and come to recognize that positives outweigh the negatives with no doubts. Optimism might not come right away, so I need you to keep trying and to never give up. Much like bravery and strength you must rise up again and again. Fight for who you are and stand tall for what you believe is right. The biggest lesson you will learn in life is to be yourself, no matter how crazy, no matter how weird you may seem. No matter if you are called down by others and told you should hide who you are and change. You weren’t meant to fit in nobody is, we all are different, we all are special and we all deserve the right to be ourselves. Don’t ever apologize for being yourself, you were set to be someone special.
If i get the chance to have a daughter, I will be the mom, that my mom was to me. She not only showed me unconditional love and sacrificed everything for me. But taught me how to live, to be Adventures, Brave and Optimistic. Everyday she showed me to be thankful for everything you have, because the greatest gift is the one your living. “…Instead of “Mom”, she’s gonna call me “Point B.” Because that way, she knows that no matter what happens, at least she can always find her way to me.” That is what I want my daughter to know the most, no matter what happens I will always be there for her, she will never have to face difficult situations alone. This poem has not only inspired me to teach others but inspired myself to follow the advice I give. This poem connects to the advice my mom has taught me. Highlighted the strong virtues and idolizing traits in which I hope to accomplish and watch develop into my own daughter.”when they finally hand you heartbreak, slip hatred and war under your doorstep and hand you hand-outs on street corners of cynicism and defeat, you tell them that they really ought to meet your mother.”
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