i wanna be hope,
i wanna be free.
i wanna be the kinda girl
that radiates light like the sun,
the kinda girl my cousin looks up to,
and my great-grandmother smiles down at.
i wanna be good,
but i don’t wanna be pure.
i want my hands dirty and rough,
i wanna let people know i’ve done my work,
i wanna show ‘em i’m better now.
i wanna be young,
i wanna be loud,
i wanna be the kid that sticks around,
that you can count on and trust to be there.
i wanna lift my friends up, get ‘em off the ground,
let ‘em know i’m so damn proud.
i wanna fight,
i wanna be an activist,
i wanna cry out for power for the underdog,
bring the needy up from their knees
and feed ‘em a diet of love and empowerment.
i wanna stand with pride,
link arms with my sisters and brothers,
i wanna dig my heels in and tell ‘em
they can’t push me down anymore, i won’t be quiet.
i wanna live free and love who i want,
i wanna live free and not duck under the glass ceiling.
i just wanna live
i just wanna breathe free,
so unhand me and let me be.