❝ a poem on self worth ❞

4. Were you inspired? Write your own slam poem and/or audio/video record your poem and link it here. See some of the videos above or links to help you out. Be brave - give it a shot!

How long will it take you to realize that
we are not defined by our collections
of bruises and scars? How many sunrises
will it take for someone, anyone to realize
that they are worth more than the size of
their designer skinny jeans and the dark
contours of eyeliner that embellish irises
so full of light already?

We have all stumbled down that path where
we cover up insecurities with a band-aid over our
hearts and a hasty "I'm fine," when truly all we do
at home is look at the curse that is the mirror and
repeat the mantra of why can't I have those nice eyes
and that body and why can't I ever have a life like his
or why can't I ever find the parts of me that love me?

But you know what the truth is? The truth is that we look
in the mirror and see who we aren't. We see the lies and
flaws that front cameras and friends shove down our throats.
So instead, see who you are. See more than the rumours that
spill from classmates' mouths. See constellations in those freckles,
and beautiful smiles in that row of braces. See eyes that shine
brighter than stars, and a voice melodic enough to be a song
all by itself. Find the sparks of determination in your soul,
the creativity in a mind full of brilliancy. You do not need to
be pretty, or dying, to leave your fingerprints on the hearts
of people who secretly wish they were you.

How long will it take you to realize that
we are not defined by our collections
of bruises and scars?

Zaccheus Jackson's Performance At Fraser Heights

On Monday, April 14^th, several English classes went to see a performance of Slam Poetry by a man named Zaccheus Jackson. During the performance, he told us many stories about himself, the events that have occurred in his life, and a part of his background. What he said to the audience was very humorous and amusing, and I found myself unable to stop from laughing, but that is just a personal view. He spoke very quickly, so at times, it was difficult to understand and required a few moments to comprehend what he had said. However, his poems were very inspiring and truthful. They were tales of his feelings and adventures of certain moments in his life, and the meanings behind the words spoken were strong and had a great impact on me. In one poem, named “…Of Wings”, he said, “I can’t really blame him at all, because if you wasn’t raised, you can’t fall.” I felt that these words were truthful. They tell you that if you were never raised properly, you would have nothing, hence not having anything to lose, so you would not be able to fall any farther than you already have. Overall, his performance was very entertaining and inspiring and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Changes in high school

What would I change in high school?

What I would like to add to that list is that we should be able to pick the courses that we want that will revolve around our job of our choice.This will result in teenagers wanting to go to school and not skipping classes this will make us want to learn about the subject we are taking.

I would also like to add to the list is smaller classes because the teacher would have more of a chance to interact with the students instead of the teacher being all over the room but she could take time with each student and have more of an impact with the student.

I agree with the rest of the things that is on that list but these two are the ones I would just like to add to the list.
 

Zaccheus Jackson Performance evaluation

What did you think of Zack's performance at Fraser Heights? 

What I think about Zack's performance is that it was very motivational because a man who started from the bottom, He was an addict, homeless, and was in and out of jail. He knew that he had loved poetry from a young age. When he was in jail he was moved to a minimum security camp this camp had a TV, video games, and very little guards. He was the cook for the camp and another man said he didn't like Zack's spaghetti because he put to much onions so Zack's thinking that he should fight this man because he grew up watching TV and he learned that the first man that argues with you in jail fight them. So he was sent back to the same jail and he was put in the "hole" the "hole" was a hole in the group and had a stone slab and a little blanket there was a window but the only thing you could see was a brick wall, there was also  a LED light on for 24 hours. He was going crazy in this cell he kept reciting this poem over and over for the six days he has never written this on paper he remembers this by heart. 

When he was homeless he had went into a cafe and he found a thing called a slam poem, The audience was given a score card to rate the poet as soon as he finished his poem he ran out the door and he didn't care what the other people said, He said that he had felt this high that he hadn't felt before and he liked because he wasn't causing himself harm. Zack is now a very successful man now because he had went to that cafe and found the job that he really enjoyed.

This is my opinion about Zaccheus Jackson performance at Fraser Heights. 

"Zaccheus Jackson is a three-time Van Slam team member, two-time Vancouver Individual Slam champ, 2007 Grand Slam Champ and three year Word Play veteran. He has an obsession w/ Heinz Ketchup, never touches dimes, and his gritty, rapid-fire, real-life stories will leave you counting syllables in your sleep."  (copied directly from the Vancouver Poetry House website - under "Wordplay", then  "Our Poets"

what would you change from high school?

                                          

What I think I would change from high school is that your allowed to make your own courses WHAT YOU WANT TO DO. Study what you want to be in the future. I would also want more innovation weeks because that was really fun you could express your ideas to people and show that what your made of. That your lots of ideas flowing through you. I would also add a swimming pool and also change up the expectations because somethings are too hard for children.