I was 6
when my best friend  
left me sitting on the trampoline
as he ran to play with someone else
and I cried and
I was shattered

I was 10
when my parents told me
their marriage had run it's course
but things would
"stay the same"
but I quietly cried and
I was shattered

I was 13
when I first left a scar
on my own body,
hating who I had become
and as the blood dripped
I didn't cry but
I was shattered

I was 14
when my own mother
acted like our relationship had run it's course
and she kicked me out
and she never said sorry
and I tried not to cry but
I was shattered

I was 15
when I realized I was a different
because I liked the girl in my math class
who looked like she could make flowers grow
with her smile
and people told me it wasn't right
and "why me?" ran through my head
and I was scared
and I cried quietly and
I was shattered

Now I'm 16
and I've never had my first kiss
and all my friends run around kissing boys
like we're all gonna die tomorrow
and date guys for fun
just for something to do
and I wonder what's wrong with me
and I cry and
I'm shattered

I'm 16
and school doesn't come easy
like it used to
I was honor roll
and I skipped a grade
and I was a "star student"
because I knew how to make essays flow
and solve that simple math equation
or know the president's order
but my brain's fried
and all the motivation I had has disappeared without a trace
and my dad yells at me for my falling grades
and I don't cry but
I'm shattered

I'm 16
and I smile to avoid the constant
"are you okay?" and "what's wrong?"
because my head is such a mess
I don't even know what's wrong
as I dig a little deeper
and watch my skin drip red
and wonder where I went wrong
and I hold back tears and
I'm shattered

I'm 16
and I'm trying to be happy
I'm trying to be happy
I'm trying to be happy
and I can't cry and
I'm putting myself back together.

-e.w.

Dear future,
I am not afraid of you,
Life is searching for the rainbow at the end of every storm,
And from every setback, and every letdown thrown my way,
I will rise up like a Phoenix from the ashes of my own ruin and demise,
And, my dear future,
I will make mistakes,
But from these mistakes I will only grow,
To know that I am okay,
Because If life was with out mistakes we'd all just be wandering travelers on a straight and joyless road to nowhere,
And dear future, this may be hard to believe, but darkness does not exist,
It is merely the absence of light,
and sorrow just the absence of a happiness that always shines through,
And when all the pain and bad in the world is washed away,
all that will be left is love and beauty,
Because between every cloud there is a silver lining
And after sadness and grief there is only hope.
Hope in every mother and father,
Hope in every daughter and son,
Because my dear future,
We are not afraid.
And together, the rainbow we are trying to find isn't so far after all