To be heartbroken is devastating. I wrote this poem while going through a heartbreak, I wrote this poem while mourning someone who’s not even dead, I wrote this poem while I was trying to heal. I found myself in a hole so deep that the light people tell you to hold on to was nonexistent for me. The pain, suffering, and hopelessness became a part of me. They rewire me to the point that that was all I knew. And although things have slightly improved, this is a chapter in my life that I need to acknowledge.

My poem "Hombres" was inspired by all the stereotypes about men in the Latino community and the African American community. Growing up, I was always told by my parents to not cry, that men don't cry and then I continue to constantly hear it throughout both communities. Men's mental health is just nonexistent in both communities and I am tired of that, so I want to shine a light on that through my poetry.

To escape, to be free. That’s what most of us aspire for, but free from what? Escape what? Freedom from what? Personally, I just want to be at peace with myself, and with my thoughts. I want to escape to a place or state of mind where I have no worries. Where there isn’t any pain or heartache.

My generation has redefined so many things. and it’s admirable. Our refusal to abide by so many rules that were placed for us before we were even born is admirable. Our addition of labels and ideas that our ancestors would have never allowed is remarkable, but it’s also confusing sometimes. For example, love. Our generation is so afraid of commitment to the point that we created “situationships”. Now in days, people use the word “love” too loosely. Whenever I hear it leaves me curious as to what people might mean by it, or if they actually mean it.

It was in the midst of Covid-19 that I wrote this poem. I was a senior in High School scrambling to complete a thousand things in order to ensure that I graduated and got into college. By trying to balance assignments, applications, meetings, my family, my social life, and my personal life…I realized that I didn’t have time for it all. I was overwhelmed, losing sleep to meet deadlines, and I didn’t understand why.

Hope, that’s one of the things that keep me going. This is an oxymoron but when all things seem hopeless, I still have some hope left. I’ve reached my breaking point time and time again, but I’m still here, clinging to that hope. Hoping that tomorrow is better than today, taking things one day at a time, and growing as an individual every day. Because looking back at who I was in the past, I can safely say I’ve come a long way, and in the words of Tom Brady, “I didn’t come this far to only come this far”.

This is my oldest poem and it has taken me five years to post it(now being 2025). It highlights how so much can change in the blink of an eye, how the only thing constant in this life is change, and that can be a scary thing sometimes.