Lucia sits outside. Her fingers dig in the dry dirt outside her home. She's so hungry. An aching pain rumbles in her empty stomach. The pain is all she can think about. It clouds up her mind, thoughts, and actions. The small girl sits hunched over, holding her side. She would do anything for food, right now. She would do anything to have it at her expense like you, I, and so many others do. 

Patrick is lying in a hospital bed. Stark light in the cold room mocks him. He feels so...so weak, as this tumor eats up his brain. He feels so useless; slowly dying while his family still needs him. The man imagines his wife struggling to make ends neat without him. His three little girls growing up without their father. Patrick needs to live. The man would give anything to live. Would give anything to have a good, healthy life, with so much room for optimism, like you, I, and so many others have.

Hue skirts around a garbage dump. Piles of trash surround her; a prairie of shreds and rotten food. She searches around in the piles for plastic bags that she can sell to a company for the equivalent to ten cents.  The twelve year old needs this money to raise her little brother, because their parents left them three weeks ago. She would give anything to have parents who supply her with everything she needs. Parents to love and care for her and her brother. She would give anything to have parents like you, I, and so many others do.

Ryan slowly trudges down the hallway of his high school, wincing every time someone accidentally bumps into him. Underneath his shirt, welts and bruises cover his aching back, chest, and arms. His drunken father beat him again last night. Third time this week. He smiles weakly at his friends who pass by, not daring to reach a hand up and high five them, for a mind-numbing pain would spark in his injuries. Ryan would give anything to be ok. To not be so beaten and torn. He would give anything to have as little injuries as you, I, and so many others do.

But someone didn't sit with Alysia at lunch today, and her crush likes her best friend. She has everything she needs, but she wants attention. Locking her bedroom door, she sits on her chair and cuts herself. Her arms start to bleed. She creates injuries like Ryan has, even though she was unharmed, like Ryan can only wish to be. She goes online and posts a picture on Tumblr of her cuts. She leaves a caption about how much she hates her life, and how ugly and terrible her life is.

While Ryan is being beaten, scars opening up again.

This still isn't enough attention for Alysia. Her mom scolded her the other day for neglecting to do her chores. Alysia complains to her friends about how horrible her mother is. How she's yelling and screaming at her. Alysia tells her friends how mean and ruthless her mother is. How terrible she makes Alysia's life. A mother; what Hue yearns to have. Alysia posts in grave detail about how evil her mother is and how bad her life is.

While Hue is mourning, for the brother she had to raise on her own just died.  

By now, people feel bad for Alysia. People shower Alysia with love and compliments, all while she wallows in her own self pity. 

Alysia is getting used to this attention. She wants more. 

The girl talks online about how nothing is going her way. How her friends refused to sit with her at lunch today. She types that she has no friends, and she just wants to kill herself. She smiles as comments flood in. Comments like "don't do it" and "we love you". Alysia basks in the attention from saying online that she wants to kill herself.

While Patrick's wife and children sob, for they just received news that Patrick is dead.

Alysia has perfected the art of fishing for compliments. She sits on her bed and avidly types out about how ugly she thinks she is. About how she's going to start starving herself because she doesn't think she's good enough. 

Everyone immediately tells her no. They tell her how beautiful she is and how perfect she is. The girl grins from ear to ear now. She loves all the attention she's managed to gather. People are so concerned about her. They worry, and try to help. They give her so many compliments now, each and every day, because they don't want her to become anorexic. They don't want her to starve herself, even though she has food, food that Lucia so desperately needs. She keeps typing about how she'll starve herself, so people keep worrying and keep giving her attention. 

While Lucia struggles to stay alive, for she can't even remember the last time she's eaten.

Alysia doesn't know how lucky she is. She takes her life for granted. She takes everything that she has, things that so many people would do anything for, and destroys them. For what? Attention? A few compliments? She throws everything away, and doesn't realize how lucky she really is.

Lucia, Patrick, Hue, and Ryan were never asking for attention. They all needed something that they couldn't have. All needed something that Alysia has, but is so quick to throw away. She doesn't realize just how lucky she is. 

But giving that all away is worth it for some attention; right?