{"id":1591,"date":"2024-05-03T20:31:39","date_gmt":"2024-05-03T20:31:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ca.greendot.org\/collegeprep\/2024\/05\/03\/spoken-word-age-is-what-makes-you-by-ana-canales-ruiz\/"},"modified":"2024-05-03T20:31:39","modified_gmt":"2024-05-03T20:31:39","slug":"spoken-word-age-is-what-makes-you-by-ana-canales-ruiz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ca.greendot.org\/collegeprep\/2024\/05\/03\/spoken-word-age-is-what-makes-you-by-ana-canales-ruiz\/","title":{"rendered":"Spoken word: \u2018Age is What Makes You\u2019 by Ana Canales Ruiz"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spoken word: \u2018Age is What Makes You\u2019 by Ana Canales Ruiz<\/a><\/p>\n

This piece<\/i> placed third for Spoken Word submissions<\/i><\/b> in the 2024 <\/i>\u00c1nimo Voices WRITING, ART, & SPOKEN WORD COMPETITION 2024<\/i><\/a>, which invited students to respond to an open prompt. The competition is an opportunity to motivate, recognize, and celebrate our strong student voices through writing, spoken word, and art.<\/i><\/p>\n


\nhttps:\/\/greendot.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/3rd-Place-Ana-Canales-Ruiz-1-1.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

Age is What Makes You<\/h2>\n

\tTime is what shapes you
\nIt molds you in order to make you
\nWith every year is an intro to a new lesson
\nTo open your eyes to see the person you are meant to be
\nAt fourteen I experienced my first sense of loss
\nI didn’t know I could cry so much
\nI was meant to get better, but instead I got worse
\nBut I knew that couldn’t be the end
\nI pushed through and brought it my all, and I was able to feel a new sense of hope
\nYet, the feeling of grief never left my soul
\nGrief stays with you forever, it can never leave
\nBut what is grief if not love that has nowhere to go
\nShowing that love perseveres even through times of dread
\nAnd that’s what I am
\nFifteen
\nThere was crime all around me
\nIn school, in the streets, and on the news
\nI was told to join in too
\nEven when everyone was doing it, I kept away
\nI call that discipline
\nAnd that’s what I am
\nSixteen
\nI stuck by your side even when no one else did
\nThey warned me but I still went
\nI always defended you because you meant a lot to me
\nEven after everything I sometimes remenice because I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have fun
\nNow I know that I really didn’t mean a lot to you
\nIt was my decision to trust you, and it was your choice to prove me wrong
\nYour choice is why we went our different paths
\nMy loyalty was something I should’ve given to another
\nBut that strong loyalty
\nIs what I am
\nSeventeen
\nI lay in bed wide awake
\nAnd these thoughts are getting to me
\nWishing to disappear once the sun comes up
\nWanting to give up on everything because life is catching up too fast<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Then I close my eyes and I know I’ve come too far to give up on everything
\nI’ll make it through the night and see the sun shine once more
\nThat’s what I call resilience
\nAnd that’s what I am
\nI might be from perseverance, discipline, loyalty, and resilience
\nBut I still feel like something is missing
\nAnd that is
\nThat I don’t really know who I am
\nI never really thought of what makes me who I am
\nI never really thought about it before
\nThey are in every words we say, every smile we share, every tear we shed
\nIt’s the pains and joys
\nThe trails and errors
\nThe fails and triumphs
\nThe love and hate
\nThat’s what makes us<\/p>\n

Yet, when I’m asked to describe who I am I can only give a few examples before I fall silent<\/p>\n

I haven’t been proud of who I am
\nI wished I acted different, looked different, and thought differently too
\nI haven’t been proud of myself because I always wished to be someone else
\nEven when I tried to change the surface of who I am, I still wasn’t proud
\nI couldn’t lie to myself
\nI can change how I act, I can change how I look, and I can try my best to think differently
\nBut I can never rewrite my soul into a completely different one
\nBut if I don’t fully know who I am, I still want to be proud of whoever I am
\nI’ll be proud of my strong perseverance
\nI’ll be glad to have discipline
\nI’ll be happy to have loyalty that no other can have
\nI’ll be grateful to have a level of reliance that push me through the darkest of days
\nYou know, life isn’t always about being extreme all the time
\nDon’t underestimate the value of being just who you are
\n\t\t\t\t\"ana-canales-ruiz-thumbnail\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ana Canales Ruiz<\/strong><\/p>\n

11th Grade, \u00c1nimo South Los Angeles Charter High School<\/a><\/p>\n

Guiding Teacher: Clifford Campbell<\/p>\n

The post Spoken word: ‘Age is What Makes You’ by Ana Canales Ruiz<\/a> appeared first on Green Dot<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Source: ACPA Blog<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spoken word: \u2018Age is What Makes You\u2019 by Ana Canales Ruiz This piece placed third for Spoken Word submissions in the 2024 \u00c1nimo Voices WRITING, ART, & SPOKEN WORD COMPETITION 2024, which invited students to respond to an open prompt. The competition is an opportunity to motivate, recognize, and celebrate our strong student voices through…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":1592,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nSpoken word: \u2018Age is What Makes You\u2019 by Ana Canales Ruiz - \u00c1nimo College Prep Academy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ca.greendot.org\/collegeprep\/2024\/05\/03\/spoken-word-age-is-what-makes-you-by-ana-canales-ruiz\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Spoken word: \u2018Age is What Makes You\u2019 by Ana Canales Ruiz - \u00c1nimo College Prep Academy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Spoken word: \u2018Age is What Makes You\u2019 by Ana Canales Ruiz This piece placed third for Spoken Word submissions in the 2024 \u00c1nimo Voices WRITING, ART, & SPOKEN WORD COMPETITION 2024, which invited students to respond to an open prompt. 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