Staying in touch with yourself despite unexpected challenges is all about going back to what made you love what you love. I have a childlike heart so I get anxious about the big adult things— filing taxes, moving, safety procedures, paperwork, health insurance... you get the point. Ever so often, it'll really affect my vibe and I'll just crawl into my sea of lavender covers with a stressed out state of mind for hours on end. Yet I realized that you could still get the annoying adult stuff done without sacrificing what you love. I truly believe experience and wisdom can coexist with innocence and enthusiasm, even if William Blake doesn't think so. Harry Potter is something that's been with me through my entire life, so I always end going back to Hogwarts when I need a creative or emotional pickme-up. Or I'll shamelessly dive into a large bag of Hot Cheetos. Or I'll walk through the greenest forest I know while listening to ancient hymns. Or I'll go to Disneyland and watch the fireworks while sipping my double tall soy mocha, crying endlessly into the seam of the cup. You have to hold onto those things that make you, you, right? I always think to myself, "What would my 7 year old self think? What do I think now, at this current moment? And what will I think on my deathbed, looking down at my life?" Balance is all about staying connecting with your past, present and future, and letting it journey with you. You can't get caught up in the symptoms and obligations of your life. – MARIA ELENA / LONG BEACH, CA
ILLUSTRATION/POEM: HIBA ARGANE / QATAR
18
On days where the sun does not shine and the rain streaks my windowpanes, I close my eyes and breathe. In all the chaos, I find serenity in the hot herbal tea that I sip, the coffee house blues that stream through my square of a room, and escaping my reality for a little while unraveling another writer’s work. On days when I find myself outof-sync, I string words together to create poetry that will rearrange the angels and demons in one’s soul. I take the rain and use that day of weakness as a gain in my writing, as a gain to my strength. Somehow, I think that’s what makes me go on. I know that balance is never easy, and maybe I will never fully reach an equilibrium, but I can take the bad and make it good within myself. I can make it so good within myself that it can hopefully radiate outward, out of my body, and maybe just maybe be the equilibrium in someone else’s life. Finding consistency in life is something rare but not something worth faltering in faith. There is never such a thing as too “busy” because we make time for what we believe to be important. So balance in life is directly correlated to what is important to you. Not everyday will be the best, but even on the rainiest of days, I can find comfort in the simple things to keep me grounded. At peace. My own version of balance. – CORAL GOLDSTEIN / HOUSTON, TX