It's ridiculous the amount of pain people can inflict on each other mentally and emotionally. I know a few people who don't believe in emotional and mental abuse, but in a way, that is the worst kind of abuse that people inflict on each other, and definitely the most common. So much harm can be caused with just words, and I know some people that are deliberately cruel. I sometimes wonder if that's just human nature. On the other hand, I know people who are so sweet and innocent, it breaks my heart to see the way people treat them.

When I had my nervous breakdown, it was a period in my life that was really painful--I had stress at home and at school, and at the same time, when I was 15, I was practically engaged to a boy I thought I was in love with (long story, and a big mistake). It was indescribably stressful, and much of it, I realised was caused by my own lack of the ability to cope with stress and the conviction to be me own person--both of which came after my breakdown (which consisted of hours of uncontrollable crying).

Now, more than two years later (I'm almost 18 now) I feel like a completely different person. I only hang out with about half a dozen people, but that's good enough for me. I realise now that it's not important to be popular or "cool" and I think it's way cooler for people to do what they want to do than it is to conform to what others expect of them. I have my art and my music, so even though I wouldn't say I'm content with life in general, I at least have causes and people that I care about.

Peace--Keli