Maia Mayor - "I Want to Be" | Classic Slam 2019

This poem reminds me of why we're never just satisfied with being. I don't wana be anything. I'll be satisfied if I read one book that I'll remember for the rest of my life, do one push up and feel like I'm the strongest I've ever been, tell one joke that makes someone I'm trying to impress laugh. I want to just be and that's enough.

when she said “many moons ago" I knew she would be good

Sometimes I just want to be enough for myself.

“i want to master the practice of self acceptance and love.” “i want to be everything i never was.”

BERRIES AND CREAM! This poem was ahead of its time

I want to be well read I want to read Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy and confidently pronounce their names I want to read every book by every russian author I want to read all of the classics The Pulitzer prize winners, the national best sellers, the undiscovered contemporaries before their novels are turned into movies Before they plaster the face of blockbuster actors on every cover until I'd be too ashamed to buy it I want to write notes in the margins of pages with thought provoking insight, character motives and plot devices I want to read every single book on my bookshelf I will stare at them all until something happens I will carefuly trace the lines of every crease on every bind of every book Looking for a shortcut A way to read them all at once because I want to be well read I want to be smart I want to know all the things I want my brain to be a complex work of art I want to start now I want to be well rounded I want to start playing violin again I want it to sound beautiful and impressive and technically difficult I want to re-learn how to read music and play Tchaikovsky's Symphony number four and I want to see your jaw hit the floor before I reach the grand finale my fingers trembling, rough with calluses, but I don't want calluses I want soft, smooth hands, to hold your hands after you fall in love with my undeniable musical talent I want to be the first chair violinist in the LA philharmonic I will listen to YouTube videos of classical violin until I am the first chair violinist in the LA Philharmonic I want all of the knowledge sprouting from my fingertips Easy as the water drips when I let my arms hang like scarecrows in the shower I want the power of now I want to feel powerful I want to be strong I want to be strong and healthy I want a body that says I do 5am Pilate's every weekday I want to drink chia seeds and loose leaf green tea, sweetened with agave nectar I want to do bikram yoga and sweat out toxins in 105 degree heat I want to be hot I want to be hot and sexy I will wear leg weights while I sleep until I wake up in peak physical condition My body, a temple made of concrete because I want to be strong I want to write my wrongs like poems, find answers to all of life's problems hidden in witty double entendres I want to write witty double entendres that actually makes sense so people can laugh at my enginuity I want to be funny I want to be hilarious I want to fill rooms with uproarious laughter that have guts busting faster than a cracker barrel feist I want to be the little lad that loves berries and cream, berries and cream I want to be David Sedaris reading Santaland diaries in a monotone stupor I want to be Kylie Jenner realizing things And I want to be Nicolas Cage fighting bees in a legendary remake of The Wicker Man I will emulate the entire history of pop culture until I am the funniest person in a ten mile radius at any given time because I want to be histerical I want to be incomparable and vast I want to be boundless and uninhibited, free from inertia and self doubt I want to master the practice of self acceptance and love I want the confidence to be everything I never thought I was I want to be everything I never thought I was I want to be everything I never was

My favorite part is how we might want a lot, but few of us are ready to work for it. We don't want it to be hard, we want those soft hands. We want it to come to us easy or we won't do it.

Maia is one of my favorites ❤️❤️

I’m not 100% sure but is she the girl who wrote the poem Perfect?

Was kinda waiting for a turn in the second half that never came, but still good.

She might want that but theres only 1 thing I want: I wanna be the very best, like no one ever was

Imagine how frustrating it must be to have thoughts trapped inside because your mouth won't let them out. God Bless you, Maia.

I love Maia and this poem ❤️ it really spoke to me as a girl who dreams of these things but will probably never reach them

I just witnessed my soul twin. Through and through. From Russians novelists to getting that Berries and Cream lad song stuck in one's head for all of time. The reason I don't write is because I think about all I want to be and sit paralyzed as I realize the desparity between there and here. But I won't give up and hopefully, more and more, will want these things for a better reason than vainglory.

She spoke what was written in my heart

At the same time I’m watching this, I just want to have the same confidence of her to present in front of people...

Her poetry slams always bring me to tears! For some reason I always find myself watching her poetry slams coincidentally.

That's a poem. She's a poet. She's it. She's everything. Someone please find Maya and tell her that.

This is quite literally my exact dilemma right now, even down to the violin. This really spoke to me as a young girl just trying to find her own special place where she fits, thank you Maia❤️

I can relate to EVERYTHING she said