I was nervous about writing this column, considering this is my first one ever. But by the end of it, I can say that I tried.
The rush from the first week of classes starting right away is like a ticking time bomb. Deadlines are set in stone and meetings are marked in calendars. Highlighters peek out of my backpack and Post-it notes cover most of the words in my books. With all the havoc, one can forget how to enjoy some of their hobbies. This happened to me last semester.
Browsing bookstores, reading short poems and looking up articles constantly fills my head with a sense of clarity and hope. Personally, finding that one poem that speaks great lengths to your insides is one of the best feelings in the world. Writing and reading poetry can express what I am really feeling, and makes it easier to understand the concepts that bounce around senselessly in my head.
Poetry from Rupi Kaur captured the essence of what I call the “ultimate feelings” on a page. Kaur’s first book, “Milk and Honey” was release in 2014. She takes you on the journey from the hurting, the loving, the breaking, and the healing.
One of my favorite poems in this book captured the hurt and love combined in one. It goes like this:
“how is it so easy for you
to be kind to people he asked
milk and honey dripped
from my lips as I answered
cause people have not
been kind to me”
-Rupi Kaur
A poem can touch a lot of people’s hearts, and this poem touched mine. I could not put into words what I was feeling before I read Kaur’s work. After I did, it all made sense to me. This was about eliminating the reckoning forces in my life to find the conviction in my words.
Another reason why this poem is important to me is that whenever I feel overwhelmed, I can open up the book to Kaur’s words and small dainty drawings.
During my first semester of freshman year, I looked inside this book to comfort me. I was in a three year relationship that just didn’t make sense to me anymore. My high school love was something I wanted to keep, but it just couldn’t work with the distance between us and our everchanging selves. It was stuck in the past, and I vaguely remember that empty feeling in my gut when I was confused with what was going on. Long story short, this was the book that got me through tough moments like that one.
Kaur’s second book of short poems,“The Sun and Her Flowers” was published in March of 2017. This romance novel revolves around the cycle of a flower. You can read it as if you are the flower. That’s how I read it.
The contents of: “the wilting, the falling, the rooting, the rising, and the blooming” take you through the cycles of growth, with growth being a process. Those four words are what you need to know if you want to get a peek into the world Kaur has created.
Whatever you take away from this column, I implore you to keep doing whatever you enjoy in life. Even when you are frantically running from class and spilling your coffee all over your new jeans, and tripping up the stairs and being embarrassed about it, college is a time to find the small moments. All the joys in what you love will make you a happier person. Keeping your hobbies close to your heart can make all the difference.
This is a big thanks to Rupi Kaur’s works for keeping me in touch with my feelings of love for myself and others.