Most girls, and some guys (though, they won't ever admit to it) have diaries. In these diaries, they hold their deepest, darkest secrets, ones they don't even tell their families or their closest friends. Writing in a diary is extremely cathartic to those who do it. It's 'talking' about your feelings and thoughts without actually ever speaking about them to anyone. It's like venting every thought you've ever had, just in written form. Well, that's how I feel about poetry. It's my own rhythmic diary of sorts, where I can put into verses and words, what I couldn't write out on an actual diary. I've owned several diaries in the past, but I wasn't drawn to write in them. I never felt the need to write in them. As a matter of fact, I discovered poetry soon after coming to college. I guess the new environment, different people, new experiences, compiled themselves into a series of poems. These poems are a 'gateway to my emotions' so to speak. If you read one of my poems, you'll be able to understand what I was feeling at that particular moment in time when that poem was written. I'll admit, some of them are dramatized, embellished with big words, but they convey the same message. Sometimes, I write poems for the hell of it. I write about how my day was, what I did, or what I'm feeling at that moment in time. As such, some of these poems are deeply personal, hence the diary aspect of the 'rhythmic diary' I keep. Written diaries hold just as much power as the rhythmic ones. While the written ones include expletives, names, and a number of slangs, the rhythmic ones sort of generalize those feelings into a solid piece of poetry. College students hardly have time to keep up with their own lives, let alone write diary entries or some poetry. But I think it is critical for us to keep one of the two, if not both. Having a medium through which people can vent out their feelings, especially the ones meant to be kept to themselves, is crucial to a person's psychological well-being. Trust me, it really helps. Sometimes, it works as a de-stresser. It's a healthier alternative than knocking back a few drinks and a few joints. OK, now I sound like one of those clichéd therapists, but you get the point. Here's a poem from one of my less melodramatic, and more frivolous pieces. I hope after reading it, y'all will want to explore this 'rhythmic diary' method, or at least consider it.

Miraculous, is it not?

That a contraption stretched so taut

Could unleash an explosion of stars

Evoking spirit and capturing hearts

Only happening twice a year

Each time, with many a cheer

Once when the Earth revolves

Another when patriotism resolves

Guess now, what day is described

In this anomalous poem I have surmised

Imagine it in the mysterious night

All is calm, seemingly right

People bustling here and there

Making it a family affair

Togetherness in three colors

None of which, is any duller

Smell of food and barbeque

Brings to mind three bright hues

White clouds and a starry blue night

Combine rosy red, oh, what a sight

In the flag displayed up above

Is our nation filled with love

Blasting loudly, sparkling up the sky

Indeed it is, the Fourth of July

-An Original Poem by Asmita Talukdar