IN MY MOTHER TONGUE

I want to write in my mother tongue
Yes, I write in English, the language you know
And proudly shove down my throat
And everyone else's...

I came here...
Already fluent...
But I am one of the fortunate few...
Or the damned ones who couldn't opt out?

You look at me
Assuming I speak a language...
And I stare at you
When you say "Nihau!"
Or "Muchos gracias!"

The world is more varied
Than these...
I know you are upset
That we seem to invade
But the world is always changing.

Why don't you fly across the border?
Canada is similar but it's not home...
Mexico is more than Spring Break destinations
Not all Mexicans are drug gangster.

You want to take over the world...
Wow! Your forefathers did too...
They succeeded somehow,
But look at the chaotic aftermath.

Good Reminder About Being Humble

Do not boast about tomorrow,

For you do not know what a day may bring forth.

Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth,

A stranger, not your own lips.

~Proverbs 27:1-2~

In Washington, D.C., people are always bragging of what and who they know, what they own, what they are doing, and what they have done. It is a never-ending battle to impress others. I have tried to join it but I have quickly discovered that it is very exhausting and actually useless in trying to get a lot of things done in your workplace and your personal life.

I have learned that it is the quiet people who have done a lot of impressive stuff. In their satisfied silence, they know they have done enough and more. And most of the time, their modest hard work (without them begging for the spotlight) gets them acclaims for unknown sources and raises them even higher. I strive to follow their examples... but the pressure of upstaging others is very difficult to ignore in a world capital, whose influence is far-reaching.