I miss those old-fashioned barber shops
The ones where everyone was welcome
You could hear stories about people who made it to the top
Never just a place to get your haircut, but a place to have fun,
filled with conversation and good memories
I spent most of my childhood in one.
And through everything in my life that went terribly wrong
The barber shop was a place that made me feel strong
Surrounded by people who loved and who cared
A place where every ounce of happiness was shared
Places like these I love the most
But I haven't seen a shop in a while, They sort of dissappeared, Like ghosts

I have this perfect idea of a person in my head
Who loves the things I love
Who writes with me, draws with me, paints with me.
Someone with soft hair I can run my fingers through.
Who thinks it's cool I want a million tattoos,
Who doesn't mind doing illegal things
Like tagging, drinking and "burning trees"
Who doesn't care that sometimes I just don't have the energy to do my hair
And sometimes I like to walk around in my underwear,
Someone who knows I can't always be perfect
But still believes I am,
Who will tell me when I'm wrong but behind me they'll stand
Who will hold me when I cry
Wipe the tears from my eyes
Someone who will help me when I feel incomplete
Someone to take me farther than his bed sheets
Someone who loves carnivals, And can only Tolerate clowns
Who will be there through the ups and downs.
When I get angry they'll calm my mind
With a kiss and Love I don't have to search for to find.
I'm so afraid that when this person comes I won't notice
I'll be too busy chasing these other fools, I just know it.
He'll knock me right of my feet
And say something clever like "I know you've been waiting for me"
Then he'll go sweet
And make me weak in the knees
He'll apologize for being late
Then he'll fall in love with me

I have a message for the kid sitting in the back of the classroom
You know, the one with the bruises, ask him what's wrong he'll give you the dumbest excuses
"I fell down the stairs, and ran into the door"
But stairs and doors don't give black eyes and broken bones so what are you lying for?

I have a message for the prettiest girl in school
You know, The one hiding behind all that make-up and hairspray
Pretending she couldn't be having  a better day
Yet she's afraid to go back to her broken home
Because her step-dad hurts her mom and her brother won't leave her alone
School is her sanctuary
What you don't know can be scary.

I have a message for the boy on his skateboard
Sellings drugs and liquor to make a quick buck
Then he got caught for possession and now he's stuck
In that cell all by himself remembering what his friends said
"We're bros, forever" But they left him for dead.

I got a message for that wierd girl in the lunchroom
The one that eats alone,
She has no place to call home
She smells bad because she doesn't own a shower
Living in shelters, her life is out of her power
Because her parents messed up she has to hurt
But she wants to do better so she does her school work

I have a message for the boy blogging
Those cuts on his wrists are not cat scratches
They're more like past mistakes left on his arms in patches
He can't help how sad he always feels
But he refuses to be that kid "on pills"

I have a message for that girl with the strict parents
Wishing she could bring her girlfriend to meet the family
But she knows if she did they wouldn't be happy
Because being gay is a sin
And if you're gay you're not kin

****, what a world we live in.

I have a message for all the messed up kids
Who struggle in the daily lives they live.
You will be okay
Things will get better someday.
So put away that blade and pick up that paint brush
Don't end your life before you've felt the rush
Wait until you've had your first kiss
I promise you there will be so many moments of bliss
Put down that bottle of pills
You of all people deserve life's thrills
I know sometimes it's hard to catch the curveballs life throws your way,
Just get low and get ready to play

To the kids who feel lost and alone
I will be the one to welcome you home