To Be Content With a Quiet Life

To be content with a quiet life is to enjoy the unimportant things:

Moments before you fall asleep,

The scratch of pencil and paper,

Texts from your grandmother,

A cup of tea just hot enough,

A half smile between two half friends,

The dog-eared pages of a library book,

A song that speaks to you,

And vanilla ice cream. 

To be content with a quiet life is 

To smile at the things you love, 

To laugh at the mundane,

To be allowed to feel, deeply and wholly,

To feel complete,

To grasp what you’ve been seeking,

And to remember you are not alone. 

To be content with a quiet life is

making your own meaning.

Eleanor Hawkins is a junior at the American School of Dhahran. She enjoys reading, listening to music, and hanging out with her friends.