(the following was written in hopes that it gets me some traffic from Miss Vanessa Van Petten, and maybe a chance to write some more later on for her site).
I’m not going to lie to you. I can’t say that I can look back on my past teenage years and remember them fondly, and anyone who remembers them as idyllic times is odd to me. I will say this however. I was never pressured into doing drugs, drinking, or any of that kind of stuff, mainly because, one, I didn’t hang around with the sort of people who DID this kinds of things, and two, I had an outlet. Writing. Those commercials where they talk about having something as your anti-drug, it’s completely true. I write for a living. It’s what I do. Granted, it’s not half as glamorous to be the writer as it is to be, say, the actress in the fancy dress and limo, but it does give you some sort of stimulus, knowing that you can think of witty musings. What I’m saying, is that writing is my outlet. When I used to come home from school, I would get angry immediately, but after a while, I began to stop lashing out, and instead vented in my blogging, and THEN would do my homework, making myself that much calmer. My brother plays guitar, that’s what he does to stay away from those sorts of things, but I have to admit, drugs and alcohol just don’t interest me. As for other aspects of teenage life, I never really was self-conscious about appearance either. Some kids just aren’t, and it doesn’t make them weird. It just makes them who they are. Now that I’m turning 19 in about 4 weeks, I must admit, it’s scary to look back at these years. They were devastating, the losses I experienced, the heartache, the constant bashing from other kids my age because I was different from them. But as much as these years didn’t leave me with some joy, I DO have to admit they were important, mainly because of the emotional substance that was involved. They may not have been great, but they taught me how to deal with what a lot of life throws at you, which sometimes can be overwhelming. You learn how to cope, you learn social skills, even if you try to avoid learning new things, even AVOIDING it is a trait you pick up, and that to me is humorous. These years may not have been the happiest, but they certainly, and I will admit this with no shame, were the most important for life learning skills.
(So, what do you guys think? Think I could possibly get anything published? Let’s hope. Regular blog post to resume later today or tomorrow).
m@rk
