I would tell you to live wise but when has happiness come out of anything wise
I would tell you to live well but when has living well made us soar
I would tell you to put your chin up and look ahead but when has looking back not made us smile
When has sucking our stomachs in and conforming to relationship norms ever been our answer to finding true love
So no I won't tell you how to breathe and how to fly I will tell you though to find your happiness.
No matter where it lies
And not just happiness for today and tomorrow but happiness for life
If its behind the pages of books or under someone's sheets or in the way the cold feels as it melts beneath your feet
If its staying in a shared apartment with people you don't know in a strange land or in a bus full of strange men who play in a band
Whatever it is and wherever it is, find it. Want it and love it.
Do it now because it should be something that makes you happy even when you lay your head down to sleep for the last time.
You are the only one who will live your life and the only one to write in its pages.
Don't be stuck out here, living in other people's cages
Amla Pisharody
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/to-my-daughter-18/
