We all have our own strengths and weaknesses, meaning that we all have out different pains. We all have out weaknesses, some of them untouched, or under constant abuse. But, what if we understood these kinds of pains? Through the eyes of another, new doors are opened. In another’s world, everything takes a whole new meaning…

If we understood their pains and hardships, would we stop being so judgmental…or maybe a little less? If we looked at life through their window, if we walked with them in their shoes, would anything change? Would there be less pain circulating around, right under our noses? Would more people be able to fight their way back to life instead of withering away into near nothingness?

This is my dream…a world of understanding. I’m tired of living in a world of people shunning one another simply because of their appearance, reputation or story. I want people to go past the surface, deeper than the skin. If people’s minds were more open, more accepting…just think of how many lives would be saved.

This understanding is crucial, more than I originally thought. My friend Sharon showed me just how important it was. She was thrown into her own personal h***. She bore a burden nobody should have…especially nobody her age.



Sharon was your average 17-year-old. She was athletic and fairly brainy. She wasn’t the prep or the loner…and her favorite place was the court. Sharon was the type of person who looked at her life as “the glass half full.” Everything seemed to be looking up for her…until that one night that changed everything…

It was a Saturday morning and things got off on a bad start, it was simply one of those rare bad mornings. Who knew that this one bad morning would be her last?
Or the first of many…depending on how you looked at it. The problems with her family pushed her away from her house…her only home. She had to get away from here during the day, but she always had to back at night…she had no choice.

But, one night in particular shall be the one that is imprinted on her mind for the rest of her life. An ambulance and fire truck tore past her, sirens blaring and lights flashing…racing towards her home. Only then did she notice the thick black smoke snaking toward the starry sky. All she could do was sprint, no thought was involved. She said that her body reacted before her mind.

A crowd already began to gather, flickering shadows dancing everywhere. “This isn’t right…” she whispered and tore through the anxious, growing crowd. Then, everything began to slow and freeze, even time itself…only then did the full extent of the situation begin to sink in. flames were devouring her house…her only home. Crackling sounds echoed throughout the night…until a sudden scream overtook all, pulling her out of her trance.

A shriek of her own pierced the night’s thick atmosphere. Her eyes began to burn as her face was caressed was caressed by the fire’s warmth. She desperately lunged forward, only to be yanked back and held in the arms of an officer, holding her away from the raging inferno. She fought and struggled…but all her efforts were in vain. Hoses tried to calm down the flames, at least enough to save the residents. But no avail…they were gone…never to be seen again…

She had everything that she wanted…and lost in all in one night. Her clothes, jewelry, precious momentos…but above all, her loved ones. EVERYTHING she one had…now lays in a heap of ashes, soot and charred wood. They were all the had left in this world…and they were all taken just like that…simply, gone…

But above the loss and confusion, the worst feeling she has now was the guilt. Her last words to any of them were…unpleasant to say the least. Regret and sorry shackled her heart. She was bound with invisible chains and weights that drag her further and further down. Her mind was soon plagued with many “what if’s”…pulling her to a deeper level of depression.

Over time, she simply wasn’t herself anymore. The shine that once shown brightly in her eyes is now hollow and dead. All that once was, now lies buried beneath the sands of time. Her lips never smiled, and getting a laugh was near impossible. On the inside, she was a miserable, depressing shadow of who she once was…