With a little over a year of college experience under my belt, I can't count the number of times I've felt my heartbreak for various reasons -- a bad grade on a test, a call that never came, or a friend that drifts away -- my mom showed me this poem when I was a freshman in high school and I was upset about issues going on within my friends. Now, six years later, I still turn to this poem for solace and refuge when I feel my heart shaking; and now, six years later, it still repairs a little bit of the pieces.

"After A While" byVeronica A. Shoffstall

After a while you learn
the subtle difference between
holding a hand and chaining a soul
and you learn
that love doesn’t mean leaning
and company doesn’t always mean security.
And you begin to learn
that kisses aren’t contracts
and presents aren’t promises
and you begin to accept your defeats
with your head up and your eyes ahead
with the grace of woman, not the grief of a child
and you learn
to build all your roads on today
because tomorrow’s ground is
too uncertain for plans
and futures have a way of falling down
in mid-flight.
After a while you learn
that even sunshine burns
if you get too much
so you plant your own garden
and decorate your own soul
instead of waiting for someone
to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure
you really are strong
you really do have worth
and you learn
and you learn
with every goodbye, you learn.

So, learn. Take chances and feel the burn of them and learn. Live your life with the intention of learning something -- and then teach others. Learn with a hunger for knowledge and a thirst for truth. Learn that you really are strong, and you really do have worth. Learn.