. On Rules .

Hi friends! 

Today, I'm featuring one of my former students. This year, I assigned my seniors a portfolio of poetry for one of their year-end assignments. Jesica's poem, "The Ten Golden Rules", was one of my favorites. I quietly asked her if she'd like to be featured on my blog and she quietly said yes. One of the best parts of my job is getting to see what kids write every day. This is one of those best times.

Jesica can sing, and she can act, and she is sassy, and she had blue hair for an entire semester. And it WORKED for her. She asks insightful questions, she's humble, but she is literally three steps ahead of most people.

See what this is right now? It's like when your mom brags about you to all of your friends. That's what is happening right now. 

A little about Jesica Hernandez: 

I was born in Schuyler, Nebraska and have lived here all my life with my parents and three brothers. My mother wrote poems when she was in school, which sparked an interest in my writing back in middle school. However, I have not attempted to write anything since then. My junior year of high school that changed because of the fun writing prompts I was given in class and because of the immense support one particular college had given me. The University of Nebraska at Lincoln, the school I will be attending in the fall for biochemistry and microbiology, showed me how I can turn my writing into books and truly express what I felt. Today, I write in my free time and hope to publish my work in the near future.

Listen. She's going to major in BIOCHEM AND MICROBIOLOGY. 

Because she's smart. And kind. And she will run the damn world one day.

Soooooooo ... here's her poem -- one of my favorites -- 

The Ten Golden Rules
One heartbeat.
It could either be your first or last.
Does that mean you cannot conquer the world with your last breath?
Does it mean you cannot express all your love to your family?
One heartbeat means one second to do everything you have ever wanted,
one heartbeat.
One rule for life,
Cherish the little things.

You only have two seconds,
two seconds to choose between college and work.
Work will pay for the baby that is on the way,
college will pay for your happiness.
How could you ever regret a decision like that?
A decision you made in two seconds.
The second rule for life,
never regret anything.

You're third in line to be interviewed for the Nobel Prize,
but sadly, you don’t get it.
How could they not pick you?
You found a cure to cancer.
Yet, you still failed.
The third in line and the third to fail,
only to reveal,
the third rule for life.
See failure as the beginning, not the end.

Four, five, six...
The numbers you would hear being shouted before he beat you.
He’s gone now and you don’t have to be scared.
Forget the pain, 
the numbers he screamed at you before your beatings.
Turn the numbers into something beautiful,
three more rules to life.
Smile, make peace, and stop overthinking.

7 a.m is feeding time for the eight children you care for,
but the children bite at you,
They were once unwanted misfits in an orphanage.
Seven in the morning:
Too early to undergo the torment of unappreciative souls.
But you never forget rules seven and eight,
be gentle and work hard;
It will pay off some day.

Nine more things to go unsaid.
Everyone tells you what you cannot do,
but what can you do?
Close your eyes,
listen… rule number nine,
Listen.

10 Golden Rules of Life.
Could your life possibly be any better if you followed them?
After all, everyone loves a rule breaker.
You just need to have faith -
rule number ten.

Jesica's FB Page
Jesica's Instagram: @_broken_promise
Jesica's Twitter: @Heyy_Jesica

Sometimes, I watch the news and think that we're doomed. 

But we're not, ya know? Because these little hatchlings that are about to go off to college and the real world - they're compassionate, and funny, and wildly honest. 

They're game changers. 

xoxo, B.