Loss. Surrealism. Grief. Everybody experiences losing something or someone they love. Love and loss are essential to human existence. Due to this interconnected sentiment we all share, I would have everybody read "Pure Colour" by Sheila Heti, a contemporary novel following Mira where she eventually loses her father and must learn to accept the life-changing event. Through abstract and experimental surrealism, Heti confronts grief and the human condition. Her main character, Mira, enters a spiritual, otherworldly journey as she joins spirits with her father and accompanies him inside a leaf. Like many of us, while experiencing grief or other painful emotions, Mira ignores the human world while inside the leaf and finds herself in a form of isolation. Mira's relatable behavior via experiencing grief is one of the many reasons everyone should read this book because such deep sentiments encourage readers to feel their emotions. Heti also excels at cycling back and facing this grief head-on in her book through the wacky leaf chapters. Mira must learn to leave the leaf and return to the human world since she still has the rest of her life ahead of her. I find that this plot and the themes encourage readers to tackle their problems directly while simultaneously inspiring the notion of expansion, such as escaping one's comfort zone, thus making Heti's novel a fantastic psychological development and learning curve for people to discover. "Pure Colour" is an excellent read for anyone as it details the experience of grief and acceptance through abstract surrealism and a relatable story arc and main character. Regardless of whether someone was experiencing a current painful emotion or not, Heti's contemporary novel is a critical read due to its rich experimentation with abstracts and the relatable experiences and emotions developed within the plot.

Antipoetic my words spill out in opposition against my pliant self— against the self i offer to this world. diabolical dialogue sits on my tongue, forked in confusion and corruption as the world takes hold of me. my skin and bones are puppets for the world to control. every ligament is a toy for the public’s entertainment. watch me, and the glass grows thicker: a mirror image. i oppose this dystopia, and yet, i still swallow my plastic words like a poser of outcry. in antipoetic poems, my phrases mock hypocrisy as they rest against my teeth clattering a phantom clamor. i would bite my tongue, but that too is attached to a string. i am a marionette. one too self-aware to escape.

Words are universal. They are the essence of our communication whether verbal or on paper. Just a single word can evoke such an intense sentiment towards a reader. Writing is more than a hobby to me. It’s the gift that has latched its hand on my soul and together we are tied as one, together I am determined to share the gift of poetry with those around me. For seven years I have been inspired by the idea of writing as a means of communication and connection. Sometimes when I speak, my voice just isn’t enough to depict the raw emotions inside me. Through the use of symbolism and metaphors, I find it easier to connect to others on a deeper level. This authentic, deep style of poetry not only impacts my own life, but additionally leaves my mark on others. I admire how something as simple as writing a single poem can lead someone to tears from past heartache or invoke laughter in its purest most bubbly form. This grand form of communication has also been a means of healing my own soul. When I’m held captive under my own emotions as if trapped underneath raging rapids, I know my hobby—this gift is the means of my resolution. My soul enters peace with the chance to truly express myself through this art form. Instead of moping around through dark days, I take this negative energy and channel it into something meaningful, something raw and authentic. I truly appreciate how poetry has become this healing aspect of my life revolved around authenticity and true, healthy vulnerability. Hobbies are gifts. They are ways we can channel our soul’s energies towards finding the little pleasures in life. They are ways we can admire the present instead of focusing on the future. Poetry, such a simple yet raw art form, has a hold on my heart. Together this passion and I have been through thick and thin, my childhood towards adulthood. As I grow older on my journey of self, I always leave room for my beloved hobby: poetry.

This is my six-year-old Yorkshire Terrier named Maggie. This feisty yet somehow also lazy dog helped me through some dark times of loneliness, mental health battles, and just those mundane bad days everyone experiences. Maggie enjoys learning new tricks, such as playing dead or waving, eating carrots that she catches with her mouth, and looking really cute. Sometimes, I'll give her a mohawk as shown in the pictures, but Maggie and I tend to disagree on the functionality of such a hairstyle. She also loves long walks, running around the yard, and cuddling during movie nights. Instagram handle: @keri.27

I'm stuck at a crossroads at a time in my life where my next decision could affect the rest of my life. The transition to adulthood and the sense of being lost during one's senior year is depicted in this song. One night I was truly feeling the fact that I had little time left as a senior, so I sat down on my floor and just wrote until I felt the song was done. I didn't get up, I didn't move. I just wrote the song until my feelings about the transition to adulthood poured out of me. I wrote down my lyrics on my note app, recorded on garageband, and then made a lyric video on the video editor on my computer.