Sometimes I lay in bed and think about the childhood I am slowly leaving behind. I miss the blissful ignorance of youth. Still being small enough to sit on my father’s shoulders as we look through the garden. The smell of cookies baking while I lick the sweet dough off of the mixer. Now I’ve been slapped in the face with a harsh reality. The reality of being a woman. I’ve been told what I’m supposed to be afraid of, and the precautions I must take. Don’t walk alone at night. Watch what you wear when you go out. Cover your drink. But the true harsh reality is it doesn’t matter what you do or what you wear. You just have to endure, and still find a way to shine.

You: A Bitter Taste: You will always be a part of my life. But not in the way that you want. You will always leave a bitter taste in my mouth when I think of you. But I will learned to accept it, and move on. But I still hope that when you see me your heart stings and you can’t bare the thought of what you ruined.

Addicted to You: It rests in my hair and has made a home in my pillows. I hate to admit that I’m addicted to you. But I need to stop, because I know you’re horrible for me, but I can’t stop. I text you to come over so I can have another hit. But soon enough I’m going to have to sober up. So I’ll enjoy the high while I can. Olive Smith Quiana

A step down the dark hallway: It is extremely difficult to go through another odious day. You just want it to end. You want to do what you want to do. Though, when you are available for that sort of amount of time, you want to do everything and nothing at the same time. A factor that affects your decision is most likely self-motivation. You do tasks that you hate most of the time while you are awake. You convince yourself to just stop and rest. Which is good; it is good for yourself in many ways to rest. Though when it comes to the point of idleness, you create a cycle. You have a cycle of hatred for the tasks that already take over your life. You daydream of what you want. Though you just dream. You do not make it a reality, which is a fault many of us have. We are human; we are imperfect. We sit and wait. We wait for an opportunity without realizing that we miss it and do not take advantage of what is secretly in the world. We wait because we feel so drained. We just want to rest, wait, and be comfortable. Though [...]

Rate: 4 They Both Die at the End is a novel by Adam Silvera that explores love through loss, hope and in the end living life on your own terms. The book starts at midnight where the two main characters both receive a call that would change their lives over the course of just one day. This call tells these two characters that they are destined to die that very day. There is no information given on how or when they are going to die but they know it is going to happen. The main characters, Rufus and Mateo were on very different journeys through life but met through fate. After meeting through a social media app meant for Deckers (people who had gotten the call) the duo tries to spend the day pushing each other out of their comfort zones and making the most out of the rest of their lives. They try numerous activities, some meant especially for Deckers and some not. These two characters seem as they could not be any more different, on the inside they are more similar than they could imagine. They connect through shared loss and heartbreak and learn valuable lessons from each other. The [...]

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The Memories of Our Lives Who are we without our memories? The images that bind us to who we are to the people that we love even to the people that we hate deciding whether we stay or go when it comes to a place or a person Compiled together they build us up as human beings The fantastic, the horrendous, and everything in between Minds tend to focus on the worst ones these are the ones that can make or break you. The bad test score that leaves you feeling foolish thinking that you know nothing about anything. That breakup which knocks the life out of you leaving you with the unnerving question of “am i no longer good enough for anyone?” Your friendship which you thought just maybe might have lasted forever coming to an end, the person you trusted the most, gone. Not getting accepted to your dream school, the one you had been dreaming about since you were a child, what are you to do now? Followed by so many more. These are the memories that make you forget who you are. The ones that beat you down, making you feel as if you are nothing, keeping you [...]

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Stand up and Fight They say home is a place But truthfully home is a person whose eyes look like coming to a place you’ve always known every time you gaze into them and whose smile brightens your mood even on the days you feel subdued When somebody says the word “you” we all think of a different person a person in our lives who makes our days that much better in so many ways whom we could talk to for weeks on end without ever getting bored of them for we would like to know everything about them all of their ins and outs, the good and the bad We all want a love story like The Notebook but in the end many of us fail to achieve that bond a love as deep and strong as Allie and Noah’s only happens once in a lifetime so if you have someone in your life whom you love tell them before you lose your chance and live a lifetime of regret for love, you should always fight for

Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas 3 - Good Book Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas tells a multi-dimensional story in one of the only ways a novel written in first-person can: by having the narrator write a story within the book. Almost immediately, the reader already knows where the protagonist’s journey begins and ends. We first find Steve York in guidance counselor Jeff DeMuoy’s office in San Diego, where Steve is being told that his missing English credit forbids him from graduating. A few pages later, Steve is in Houston, eager to begin his high school years. The effect is jarring until it is revealed that to make up the missing English credit, Steve can write a 100-page paper about anything. His subject of choice is simply how he got to this point, from straight-A student to flunking out. Within the dramatic irony lies the tension and emotional content, and ultimately proves that the journey is more important than the destination. Steve York writes about his early high school years in Houston, where his astronaut father settled after the divorce, Steve’s mother fleeing to San Diego. The ensemble cast includes the members of the Grace Order of Dadaists, the non-conforming [...]

Trapped: The people are alive. Physically they are alive. Though they are not living. They are emotionally and mentally dead with physical death just around the corner. We are starting to forget what happiness feels like. What it feels like to live life. I have talked about this before. Or at least something similar to this. Perhaps, I feel that the more I write about it, then I will finally be free. I am trapped and scared. I am scared for the future. I see other people continuing to build their own prisons, bigger and stronger. Always trapped. I desperately do not want to be like that. Though, with so many people like that, you start to lose hope of finding the answer. The solution that will save you from death row in your own prison. An oh so lonely and gloomy prison. We all lie and say that we are not trapped. Though our demons come back. Every time stronger than ever. To demand our obedience as a good prisoner. We are all trapped. Living an illusion that we are free. Free through social media. It looks so real. We should all get awards for our performances. Everyone seems to hate [...]

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Our Teen Take and Make projects have been a huge hit during COVID. Just sign up ( do it early) for a project and we will have it ready for you to pick up in the teen room each Wednesday. There's a different project each week. We love getting pictures of your finished designs so please email us at Teencafe@poklib.org and we will post your picture on our blog.

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