Shane Koyczan is a spoken word poet, writer and performer most recently known for his "To This Day" poem and video that has over 5 million views.
You may recognize his neck beard from the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics where he performed his poem "We Are More" to over a billion eyeballs world wide.
He's the author of 3 books and recently released his first studio album.
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I want to say, even though I'm going to Google how to pronounce Shane's last name, his cadence, style, and vivid and powerful usage of guided imagery has inspired MY style. I admire this piece the most, I have a poem I wrote with a similar style about my depression. Thanks to Shane, I had the option for this style of expression shown to me-i hadn't felt so moved by poetry until Shane. And Shane's art has inspired me to actually perform my depression poem for the first time on 7/9/24 in front of people...not just "people," but *other poets.* Thank you, Shane. My next big goal is to write a book. And if...no...when I do, I will write you into the dedication. It's because of you, I have an outlet for my pain, leading me to healing. Warm fuzzies, Brehanna
Not to be cynical, but it makes me laugh a very sad laugh when I realize that for so many out there, the lock down was this horrible nightmarish thing. As if being stuck inside your home was the end of the world. How it broke some people within months, it fractured people so badly they needed therapy or medicine just because they were inside for a few months. Then there are those who hardly even noticed anything happened. We had a pretty good time. Also, its wild looking back and realizing that so many people actually thought the world was ending. They genuinely believed that the cough was the end. And here we are, a few years later and most people have forgotten it even happened. They were acting like this was the black death or the Spanish flu. Some nightmarish plague that was making bodies pile up in the street. I love Shane's poems, but this thing reads like it was written in the end times, like smallpox was raging again. Some of yall really overeacted.
i've been watching this over and over since I was a kid. I've been bullied and outcasted my whole life, even by my own family. I've never felt like I belong anywhere. things haven't gotten better since I was a kid, if anything it's gotten worse. I don't know how much longer I can handle it, but for now, I'll keep trying.
Ive listened to you since i was in elementary school, Ive now graduated highschool. I think of your poety all the time. I live by your words.
I was in 8th grade when they showed my class this video, and it touched me to my core, and I decided to memorize this to keep in my heart . Now as a 24 year old i can still recite it.
This poem saved my life. Today I went and got "they were wrong" tattooed over my heart in my mom's handwriting. Keep going. Keep going. Because they were wrong.
History teacher showed us this in 7th grade.
I'm 24 now, having come out 11 years ago. No, I have never had a healthy relationship and no I am not particularly happy. However, I am greatful to be alive. Even at my young age I am an anomity to those who identify as purely gay or even a gay man solely. In my place of work, I am the only gay person, how odd compared to my high school years. I stand alone in a field of a different demographic. All this to say, I push forward and I become more and in my pre-teen years I was shown this video by my teacher and I feel a responsibility to share this life experience. It does get better. You get to lead your own life despite those who abandon you. Keep seeing the years pass by. Eventually, you become active in their passing; you deserve to be on THIS EARTH! Stay here. Breathe. Laugh. Keep growing up so in 11 years you can tell others that you are still here, despite all the pain you felt. Stay. It will always be worth everything you've gone through if only to make a comment now to tell younger yous that live is worth living always.
I come back to this every once and a while , I’ve been watching it since it released
Masterpiece
don’t care lol
I found this poem is middle school, let’s just say it really did save me at a really depressing time. I was a nerdy theater kid who liked poetry slams and one day we got to pick our favorite poem and read it to teachers/parents/students/guests etc. I chose this one and remembered every line, at the end I looked up to see nearly the whole room was crying and emotional. I’ll never forget that day because it made me realize how many broken people there really are. There was people I didn’t expect to cry, people I thought would make fun of me for this poem. But not a single person did, the room was filled with silent tears, even my teacher couldn’t hold herself back. It saved me because even tho I left alone, I wasn’t, we are all silently going through our own f** up stuff. Few people even had to leave the room, I got to speak to some and they broke down about how this poem related to them. Shane you are truly an amazing poet ❤️ I know your poems have saved a lot of people! Btw, THEY WERE WRONG. Proud to still be here, I’ve traveled lots of the world, got my own house, 2 living friends, a loving pup 🐕 and just graduated nursing school by 23 years old! I did it all by myself, worked lot of jobs, homeless for a lil. It wasn’t an easy journey but I wanted to be someone little me would have looked up too and thought “wow she’s so cool” 🥲❤️
My high school played this when it first came out. I remember crying in my classroom. Now I'm finishing graduate school and came across this video again, and I can't watch it right now because I know I will bawl my eyes out, so this is my promise to watch it sometime this year when I have the time for a good cry. Thank you Shane K for this great video. <3
"Something that would crack open the walls of your chest and let the wind tickle your heart, just enough to let you know it was still there." ❤❤
My teammate just sent this to me after I told him everything about myself and my past. I don’t know how to feel.
Who else wants to help this guy?
My teacher showed this in class and I broke down later in it after the porkchop story
Goodbye, Dad.
I Googled “slam poetry is cringe” and the r/unpopularopinion thread I found sent me here. Yeah, sorry r/commenter, this is cringe. It also sounds like all the other “serious” spoken word performances. Down to the cadence and the vocal inflections and the little “relatable” fun bits sprinkled throughout the “traumatic” revelations of everyday life. Meh. Cringe.
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Found this 8 years ago, I’ll still listen to it multiple times a day. It puts all my emotions into words that I can’t ever seem to find. Damn near saved my life.
i recently watched I Saw The TV Glow by Jane Shoenbrun and the phrase, "there is still time" brought me back to this poem, i think while on a lighter tone there is broadly a very similar message between this poem and that movie
Shane, this was extremely sad, but extremely beautifully haunting. A true wake up call to the value of life that most take for granted.
Alone forever
I sometimes come back just to listen to the beautiful background music
I was a teen when I found this video and related to it so much As an adult now, it's nice to see how far I've come where it's not relatable, but a memory of where I was. To this day, remains such a beautiful story
My English teacher played this in class today. I almost cried because of how much it made me feel relevant and i played it again at home, headphones on. Close to the end, I got up, looked in the mirror, looked at my scars and said to myself, “We made it.”
I was in the 6th grade when i first heard this, my mother showed this to me after extreme bullying and depression. I never thought I would get better, it would get better. Now I'm a beautiful mother with two beautiful children I'm living my life to the fullest. You can too, I promise. The pain we go through, and remember is now a reminder of how we survived, of how strong we are, we are unbreakable, untouchable, and loved more than you could ever imagine and yes you're life and every breath you take IS important. ♡ YOU ♡ my dear ARE important. Continue shining through life like the brightest light that you are, ✨️ despite the pain it will mold you into a person you could've never imagined seeing yourself as, take all of that pain and turn it around into something beautiful. Because you have that power if you allow it you can quite literally change the path you are on.
This still hits my soul hard.
i’m 22 now but when i was in 7th grade, i had this video linked in my instagram bio. i had kids i’d never known coming up to me and telling me how it impacted them. i think about karate pork chops everyday
I got a rumor spread that i was gay, and i remember it hit so hard and was so upset by this rumor, but i was told to let it roll off the back, to laugh and join in and the bullying would stop, and my mom was right. I started laughing at the jokes they would say about me and it went away. Take it from me, you take life less serious and show them it doesnt bother you and youll bring down the whole thing
Rewatching this film years later still brings tears. Diagnosed with autism at 5, I would have been 15-11 when this was made. Shane, wherever you are, thank you for this film. I'm now developing a film with a studio that talks about the stigma faced by those on the social side of autism and how neurotypicals portray us on the other side. I'm happy with my progress, but I still feel different from those outside the spectrum. That hasn't stopped me from trying to help others who struggle to express themselves. So, thank you again for being you. To anyone who feels misunderstood, please know there are people like me fighting for you to make our world a little better.
This man really dropped one of the hardest poems in history like it was nothing.
savehoi4
Last I watched this I was in 8th grade not planning on making it past 16… I’m 18 (almost 19) and I just applied to a community college where I have people who support and love me. I found my dream job and am pursuing it now. For any of the young kids watching this: it does get better, I promise. And I know you’re tired of hearing it, I know, but keep going. You will live to be amazing people, with amazing ambitions, who do amazing things in this world.
The last time I heard this, I was in high school, self harming & suicidal. Truly believing I would never amount to anything or make it anywhere in life. Today, living a brand new, best life while working my dream job. I can see a purpose & goals for myself Looking back was as dark as can be but looking forward, I see a light I never even dreamed of seeing.
Honestly I only watched this video because my teacher made me watch it, but damn these comments are depressing
I got to meet you in person when I was in middle school, in Petersburg Alaska, it was an amazing experience
what if instead of to this day project it was called freaky project and we sucked the bullies toes.
Will it get better?
the fact that i still know every single word to this all these years later....
I listened to this for the first time in high school, super ready to kms. I ended up trying a few times, dropped out of HS. Now I'm writing my own book, going to school to be a teacher, and I'm in a poetics course where I learned that (I still don't like poetry, but) there are poets who stand out head and shoulders above the rest. Thank you Shane Koyczan. I'm writing about you currently, and procrastinating by re-listening to old bangers. 10/10
Ngl when I saw this in school, I was fighting back tears so hard. This hit a little too close to home, considering I was bullied from kindergarten, to current day.
2024❤
I watched this in high school when I experienced bullying, when I dreaded everyday going to school. It had affected me in so many negative ways. To this day I still suffer from it since I developed social anxiety. But I just dropped by again to say thank you as this saved me in those dark moments, and now, this day, I GRADUATED COLLEGE! I MADE IT TOO!Thank you Shane, I owe you one ❤
The world was so much easier and happy when this was released, who would have thought things could have got darker, so much darker.
Can I get this on spotify please! <3
Crazy the first time I heard this was on some random day when I was in my depression going down hill and I stopped and I watched this whole thing and cried and. Was invested the whole time .. now it’s been years and I still think of this and it helps me so much we are not alone.
Makes me cry every time still.
i remember i heard this when i was in and out of the psych ward after i attempted. this poem hit me hard. hearing it today made me realize how far ive made it. i finally want to live.
I've watched this 4 times in the last 24 hours and cried every time. My dad is getting close to that point and I'm struggling with what I want to tell him deep down. Short of just begging him not to leave me....