Shattered Perspectives is a series of visuals and poetry. There will be a total of four parts to this series: self, us, beyond, and now. Poetry has always played an important role in my life. For a while, it was the only form of self-expression I had. Discovering who I really am was driven by my poetry. Poetry was, and still is, my voice. The beautiful thing about poetry is that you can be completely honest: to be as honest as possible with yourself and your audience. In this section, we explore Now.

What I've learned from my relationship is that I'm a person who lives for the future. I like knowing when and how things are going to happen. I like to plan ahead. Unfortunately this leads to a vital problem: me only living for the future, and not for the Now. I don't know how to fully appreciate the Now because I'm too busy looking towards the future. Because in the present, in the Now, that's where we make all of our memories.

Now explores a world where I don't worry about the future. But I admit that I desire to understand it. It's the Now that leads me into the future. It's the Now that shapes me to become the person I'm meant to be.

Now:

Warmth. The achingly familiar warmth.

Of where do you come from?

The sky knows.

Warmth spreads like watercolors:

Reds, oranges, yellows.

Right now I am living.

I look to the setting sun

and see fleeting time.

One less day.

Where does the horizon lead to?

I want to know

when it ends. Where it ends.

If it ends.

Will I ever know where the horizon ends?

He looks into my eyes.

I feel... anchored.

I want to experience life by his side,

the good, the bad, the now.

I want to have as many moments and memories as possible with him.

He makes me want to forget the future,

and live in the now.

Our memories are etched into my mind forever.

He teaches me everyday

to live in the now.

To live for the memories.

It's hard to change your life when you're only used to living a certain way. I've learned how to plan things out, how to live a life for the future. Thankfully, my relationship and college life has taught me that I can't wait and plan for the future. I need to learn how to live in the Now. The Now is far more important than the future in more ways than one.

Far too often I've missed out on great opportunities and experiences just because I'm worried as to what would happen because of my choices. Now, I keep my future in mind, but always allow myself to experience new things with my friends and family. I'm slowly learning how to live in the Now. Something that will take a while to become accustomed with.