eerie

Walk down the empty halls--look through the windows on the doors of the rooms.
Rooms of the place you spent over half your life.

Hear the noisy chatter.
the laughter.
young voices (energized, yet distant).

a faraway melody.

See the portraits on the walls.
Each represents a show.
And those with rows of children.
Children who left behind this place and went out into the world ("Grow up. Move on. Away from the innocence you started with.")

Nothing but a name on a wall now?

Oh, no. There is more.

The past is still moving.
If you listen.

It continues.
Back to where we used to be.

Hear it. Feel it wash right through you.

Walk some more. Up the stairwell.
Alone.

They're surrounding you.
Hear them now?

That noisy chatter returns.

The spirit remains.

a simple plea

Dear Teenager,

Yes, life can sometimes suck.
Yes, things can be so difficult that you may wonder, 'Why should I even bother?'
Yes, people are frustrating, hurtful, and often focused on extremely petty matters.
Yes, a lot of 'fakeness' and evil exists in this world.

But there's nothing you can do to change this! No matter where you go, no matter how far away you get from where you are now, these negative aspects will follow you.

It's simply a part of life.

Therefore, there's no sense in whining all the time: there's nothing you can do about it. However, what you can do is change the way you choose to live your own life.

Find the things that make you happy! Look around. Something exciting and beautiful is happening every second. Sometimes, it really is the little things.

And I know this is easier said than done, but please STOP with the constant self-deprecation. You don't give yourself enough credit! You, yes you, have so many brilliant talents and positive attributes. In fact, many of them you may not even realize you have. But other people do! Though no one ever compliments you on them or mentions them, I GUARANTEE there is someone out there who sees the beauty in you. Believe me.

And stop comparing yourself to others! Everyone is so diverse and unique that you should never be allowed to even THINK of comparing yourself to someone else. I too know this can indeed be a difficult task, but trust me--life really is so much better when you give up all your self-loathing and the constant comparisons to others and just go out there thinking, "I am myself. No one can take that away from me."

No matter what society or another person may tell you, we are ALL intelligent, gifted, capable human beings.

We are ALL beautiful.

Please, please, PLEASE stop constantly comparing yourself to others and commenting on all your faults.

Now, don't misinterpret my message...I'm not saying that we should NEVER feel bad about ourselves. Of course, there will be various letdowns and upsetting occurrences in in our lives..and we can't always control those low feelings.

My message is to stop allowing this type of attitude to be a part of your daily life.

Who KNOWS what adventures you could be having instead!

So, get out..break out!

Go forth and seek new worlds...even if they're as far as your own backyard.

It's all out there waiting.

The first step really is quite simple: just give yourself a bit more credit.

'There's a lot more to you than there is to you...'

Your fellow teenager and friend,

Brittany

Reasons for a Strange Liking

What's cool about the bus is that you can see everyone thinking.

Everyone is in his or her own world. Silent on the outside, but clearly not on the inside.

Everyone is facing a different destination.

A different day behind them.

A different day ahead of them.

The bus is just a plethora of individual inner monologues trapped in one space.

If you look around next time, you'll see it all surrounding you.

impact

watching
heart beats faster
this is more than to entertain


feeling
heart experiences what they do
this kind of relation is comprehensible to only a few

or none at all?

keep it silent
walk away, all is fine and normal
shut the door

sob

for those who don't know
for those who do know but don't have a way out
for those who know and live

real emotions

freedom

sheer terror.

legitimate fear for your life and the lives of those with you.

I never knew it could bring such exhilaration.

the typical route would have been faster...and much safer.

but, I would not trade our way for anything.

what a way to kick off a season.

Stuck

Past the white, horizontal rows that make up the window shade, I see the leaves.

Avocado-green on one side, golden-brown on the other.

They fall onto the concrete of the street and the cement of the sidewalk.

Pattering like rain.

They spin several times through the endless space of air before they hit the ground.

Twisting like strips of paper-mâché confetti.

I turn away from the window and face the front, that screen which forces me to stay in here--prevents me from running away and joining the jubilation I see.

Though not even a minute has passed, when I look outside the window again, everything is completely still.

The leaves have stopped.