Welcome to the world
Where there is a constant battle of good and evil
Where now we can’t even talk about our points of views, unless I want them yelling at
me, at her, at us.
.
So, what is your opinion?
Is my skirt too short?
Is my ego too big?
Is my smile annoying you?
What can I do to impress you?
What can I do to make you happy?
Because your satisfaction is my happiness
Yet your judgement my worst nightmare
.
So exactly how did you get the throne to insult me?
Simple.
Because of your 100 likes on Instagram compared to my 30
So congratulations — you’re officially popular for the next 3 years
And unfortunately it doesn’t stop there, when we have the world to accept us
.
Hold up
What is the world?
It’s no longer a safe walk to the commissary
It is no longer a day without crying
What I will see is pain… in a little boy’s eyes on the streets
And the brutally selfish freak who doesn’t give a thought to trying on someone else’s shoes
What I will see is an unbalanced society
And then there are those poor innocent girls
Who have so much to give yet instead they say….
I’ll break every bone in my body,
Have blood, sweat, and tears on the floor
Starve myself to look just like the person on the poster…
Hanging on my bedroom wall… right under the words
.
“life goals”
.
Life goals aren’t the goals you’d picture
Life goals just go skin deep
Life goals are about how big your thigh gap can be
And how much you should really eat
Because our world says there’s a certain amount of pounds to love yourself
.
Now once we’d step out of this nest we have to face this world
We will be terrified
We will be scared
And we won’t be prepared
We won’t be prepared for the boy who doesn’t deserve our heart
We won’t be prepared for the mean looks they give us for what I wear, for how I look
and for what I believe in
.
But here we are
Breaking the rules of beauty
Breaking the rules of social standards
And bringing something so brutal up for understanding
We cannot be scared of what we would have to vision
Flaws will not define us
.
Pain will not control us
Judgement won’t ruin us
.
When I walk down the road of life, I will walk down like it’s MY runway
I’ll hold my chin up high.
I’ll have my own flashing lights.
I’ll make sure that when I get home I will tear down the poster on my wall with joy.
.
And I promise you, you’ll see a world so beautiful, that you’ll have to smile
.
And with a smile we now say, welcome to the world.

Ananya is a new freshman in high school and has recently moved to Ohio! She has always enjoyed literature, but this is her first ever slam poetry. Before, Ananya lived in an American camp located in Saudi Arabia. Her slam poetry discusses how living life surrounded by protection stops her from seeing what the real world truly is. There is hardship, there is pain, but there is also beauty. This is how Ananya envisions the world, and she hopes every reader feels the same.