Okay, so now you know I am just a person trying to get through life. Get through the long days when everything seems dark; constant storms turning through my messed up mind.

“Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.”

I feel as though I am being whipped around in a tornado that is unwilling to let me go. When I was younger, I was always focused on the good. Looking at the sunshine lit world full of butterflies and rainbows. But now, it’s just darkness. No gummy gummy gumdrops or magical unicorns that can help me escape into a false reality where everything is good.

I wish I was magical. That way I could take off whenever I wanted to, and never look back. Possibly even erase the memory of me from those I’ve ever met, and the darkness that follows. Then, I could live a life of my own. Without judgment. Without criticism. Without the fear of disappointing those around me. Maybe then my apparently “interesting” life would just be…my life.

Do you know the worst thing about being visible? Everyone knows everything. Especially in high school. The environment is a toxic vicinity that reeks of b.o. and low self esteem. Which, you’d think that would be enough to hide you from the lions that prowl the hallways looking for their next victim; but it isn’t. Let me just put it this way, people are mean. So mean that it forces most kids to question their existence. Of course, you probably already know this if you have ever experienced high school. But if not, I hope my analogies help you understand. If they don’t, let me put it in simpler terms.

Puberty + Low Self Esteem + Fear = Hell Hole

However, this is something that faces not just the teenagers of our world, but every age. Our society isn’t kind and forgiving. And the standards they put on everyone, is enough to kill. Ever since we are younger, we are taught to conform to society and the trends that are popular at the time. But this isn’t the 1950’s anymore. This is a time where differences should be celebrated, not sought out and destroyed.

But pardon me, I’m getting a little fervent. It just amazes me at how people are not satisfied with living their own lives, and feel the need to find entertainment in the lives of others. You don’t have enough going on in your life that you have to focus on mine? Ugh. This is how our individuality gets destroyed. Instead of being our own self, we are constantly infatuated with everyone else.

Please.

Please.

Please.

PLEASE.

Stay who you are. Keep your individuality. Don’t worry about what is happening around you. Don’t worry about what others might think. Make yourself happy with who you are and what you might become. Maybe if I would have listened, I would still be frolicking in a field with my wild unicorns.