To feel alive

is not just waking up with a heartbeat,

not just lungs pulling in air

to keep you breathing for the day.

 

To feel alive,

is to really live and feel in the moment.

It’s like when you’ve been running for so long,

your chest burns and the breeze steals your breath,

but you are still smiling anyway.

 

It’s when the world grabs at you, and tells you to

look.

Look at the way the sky spills orange

like it couldn’t hold its own fire.

Look at the way the tapping raindrops

race each other down the window.

 

Look at the cracked sidewalks

where weeds bloom anyway.

Look at the way your best friend’s eyes

light up when they talk about the things they love,

like the sun rose just for them.

 

To feel alive,

is the risk of letting yourself care,

even when it terrifies you.

It’s sitting in the middle of heartbreak

and still believing in love.

It’s standing at the edge of fear,

and choosing to step forward anyway.

 

Because life isn’t just

the clock ticking,

the body moving,

the hours passing.

 

Remember that you were never meant

to just exist.

You were meant

to live.

Alive is chaos, but alive is also beautiful.