A Freilichen Purim!

A Freilichen Purim! IYH we should merit to see Yeshuous like we read about in the megilla and welcome Moshich Tzidkainu Bim'heira V'yameinu!
Below is the label I attached to my shalach manos (you can probably get a good idea of what the theme was, and how it looked. Maybe later I'll post pictures of it. It was pretty cute if I do say so myself!)

Tests of Life or Life of Tests?

Today we were told about
College courses we could take
Immediately I thought
Wow, how great!

A chance to get ahead
And get the ball rolling
But then I was reminded
There really is no way of knowing

Will I end up in the college of my choice?
Or in the position I seek?
Will my ties of friendship remain strong
Or became brittle and weak?

Will I get the job
I so badly desire
Or will I be a out of work student
With no one looking to hire?

Will I get to work with kids
Or behind a wooden desk
With one stinkin' assignment
Or boring task?

So today, this week, this year
Tests and quizzes are all I see
But are these things really
The only things testing me?

History, English, Math
Does it really make me
Who I am
Or who I am going to be?

Do tedious lessons
Prepare me for what's out there
Should I even bother,
Do I really care?

Does literature about babies switched,
Or the devil taking souls
Really matter in the grand scheme
Of reaching my goals?

Is my life better lived
Taking tests
Or living them
And trying my best?

Cuz being marked in Heaven
Matters to me more
Than how high the number is
When I see that red pen score.

Pain, Loss, and Surviving

I can't even imagine
The suffering
She is experiencing
It isn't right.
How can someone,
So good,
So true,
Go through this kind of
Pain?

I know she can conquer
And come out
Stronger than before
But this kind of loss?
Stays forever
And I don't want her to hurt
Ever
At all.

And it's not my place to say anything
And I never will
But if I could
I would tell her
I cried for her
Her loss
And for her faith
To remain strong.

Life cut short
So small
And fragile,
And suddenly,
Gone,
And I can't ever say a thing
That I was hurting with her
Because still,
I can only imagine the pain.

Just know,
These things I say
You will never hear
But even though we aren't
The best of friends
Or even so close
I admire you with all my heart
And you have inspired me
And I will try to take
Whatever lessons I can
And let that serve
As a way to uplift
That which was lost
To something greater.

How Can I Help You?- Chesed in Action

An open to letter to all Chesed volunteers for every organization out there in the world... thank you for everything you do. You continue to inspire me.

Parties to plan
Events to coordinate
Will call you soon
To let you know the date.

Bake cookies
Drive a car?
For chesed, one hundred miles
Is never far.

Deliveries
And work to be done
Helping you out
Is so much fun!

Calls to make
Brownies to bake
Your willingness to help
Really takes the cake

An hour of my time
I am sure I can spare
Because for this cause
I truly do care.

A Sunday event
Lasting the whole day?
I think I have a few hours
To spend that way.

Words can't express
How much it means to me
When you volunteer to help
And do so so willingly.

It continues to amaze me
The chesed you do
Even when I call last minute
Straight out of the blue

Concerts, visits
You never ever stop
Even when you are exhausted
And ready to drop

Helping out
You do with grace and flair
And all the work you do
Continue to show you care

From the bottom of my heart
I thank you again and again
Especially when I call, text, write
Nudging to no end

You give of your time
With a wide open heart
And it is truly that trait within you
That will continue to set you apart.

Vacation and The Real You

Vacation is great
Or so I've been told
But I have something to say
If I may be so bold
About something I heard
A teacher did say
You become who you really are
When school is away
Vacation is a time
To look deep within
To introspect and relax
Far away from the din
So if you daven each morning
And pray each afternoon
You'll be that person you want to be
Very very soon
But if snow days and breaks
Give you license to slack
Then all those wasted days
You'll never get back.
Your list of things
To accomplish and achieve
Will get pushed off
And leave you to grieve
About all the things
You should have gotten done
But instead you wasted time
Making it like you're having fun.
Time alone
Is often for good
But sometimes it can be deadly
And put you in a bad mood.
Thoughts going astray
And time running away
Black and white things
Suddenly look gray.
Blustering winds
May keep you inside
But from your real self
There is no way to hide

If Fluff Holds Us Together...

...What will keep us sticking if we throw it away?

Fluff... I got tons of it... I use for my research papers, for facades I put on for my friends, for respect I try to show my teachers... it's not real, it's just fluff! I used it when it came to my music and my books, things I read and things I watched--pure fluff.. overly sticky, never good in vast amounts, pretending to be all pure and clean, but really, if you stick your hand it, it's impossible to get out of... fluff...
Seems innocent, right? When it comes to fluff as a food, it's awesome! It's great for camping-- rice krispie treats, s'mores--yum delish, right? But in our lives, our day to day activities, it's dangerous.
You may think I am kidding... most probably you're reading this and thinking is this girl normal? Fluff? What in the world?! And you have every reason to think that... but think about this...
How often do we turn to falseness and transient things to fill our days... does it really hold us together? Or does it just get us into deeper, sticker messes?
So if we get rid of all our fluff, what will keep us together, hold us tight when we feel like falling...? What, if not fluff? There has got to be something, something stronger... and that my friends, is faith. Faith that giving up the fluff will make us fantastic people... (nice use of alliterations, don't you think?) Fluff... it's good... a little gashmius goes along way... but a lot of gashmius will only drag us into sticky, unsafe territory... so be careful how much fluff you spread on your life.

Speaking Yeshivishe

Baruch Hashem, Bli Ayin Hara, I am able to post this poem. Im Yirtze Hashem there should be many more, Kein Yirbu. B'Ezras Hashem, this poem will impress something upon you. Maybe.

I had a very rude awakening the other day
There in class I sat so sweetly
Like the good student I am
Until I was shocked completely

We were preparing for a test
That is months and months away
But they decided we had to start preparing
On that very day

I listened as I should (or we could pretend I did)
In that Ivrit learning class
Cuz if I didnt pay attention
This test I wouldn't pass

Shem etzen and shem to'ar
Were the topic to be discussed
And I thought I knew it well
Until my thoughts were rudely mussed

For if Ayin, as in an 'eye'
Is a female noun
Then it has to have a female adjective
To take it to town

So Ayin Hara is not correct
And in my yeshivishe lingo I thought I sounded so shtark
Until my teacher kindly decided
To ignite a furious spark

The proper way to speak this phrase is Ayin Hara'a
And all this time I had it wrong!
Well in a sense I was right
Cuz I was speaking yeshivishe all along..

Little Leaf

Little leaf
Please hold on tight
Though you may think its time
You're not ready to take flight...

Yes, the other leaves around you
Are falling, flying fast
But you're time little one
Has not come to pass

You must hold on
For there is so much you need
Please listen to my words
Take note, please heed

The winds around you
May be blowing hard and strong
For you little leaf
It is imperative that you hold on!

I see you struggling
Torn between what is happening to you
Little leaf, listen closely,
Your time is not through!

If you let go
You won't live on
You'll fly off into the wind,
Though free you might be, you'll simply pass along

You'll fly into the sky
Soar for a bit, and then what?
Beneath someone's foot, or in a car tire
You will be crushed and caught

Little leaf, listen!
I beg of you, please!
Hold on tightly
Along with the other leaves!

Don't let yourself be pulled
Or blown into the wind,
Under foot, or under cars
Little leaf, do you wish to be pinned?

Wouldn't you rather,
Be safe attached to a big strong tree,
That can help you to live life long
Safely and happily?

Little leaf,
This is the life for you!
Don't let the wind push you around
Or tell you what to do!

Little leaf,
Don't you know,
That if your "stuck to this tree"
It's the only way you can grow?