Author's Note: This piece is very personal to me, because even though I am not these people I put a little bit of myself and how I feel into each character. I hope you appreciate this piece for what it really is, a message to students in Middle School and High School. This is a message for people to open their eyes and see that there are people struggling right in their peer group
A meadow of flowers sways in the breeze yet, there is but one flower that does not move. It is independent; free. It is as white as the purest silk, petals flawlessly shaped, like raindrops falling from the sky. Each soft petal overlapping another. Along the stem, small thorns peek out at you. The thorns protect this beautiful piece of nature, from the harm that this cruel world brings. This flower brings out the beauty in the world that is hidden ever so well. You slowly walk up to it, stepping on the rejected flowers of the meadow. The rose stands defiantly, waiting for your hands; you start walking faster, but the rose does not get closer. Your hands start shaking; your mind is racing. Why can you not reach this beauty? The rose just keeps getting further and further away.
This is the world we live in. We make it look like the picture of beauty, when in reality it is collapsing in on itself. There’s more to our downfall than the debt and other government related problems though. What about the teenagers wandering through the world with a blindfold on? Being aware of the problem is one thing, but taking action is another. Teenagers are the country’s soon to be adults, but without the right guidance and support many won’t make it.
A girl walks through school tugging on her sleeves so nobody will see her scars. Deep down she wants somebody to notice this, but everybody just passes her by. This girl is on the edge of the cliff, one step away from pummeling down to the steep, jagged rocks below. You may think, what is one life going to do? That girl could have very well been the President of the United States, solving our nation’s debt problems, but it’s too late now. The depression has pushed her off of the edge and she just keeps falling.
A shy boy walks down the same hallway, avoiding eye contact and staying below the radar. He is different. He is not into sports or video games, he loves to read and write. The other guys think this is hilarious and he is the butt of the jokes. This boy simply holds in his tears in and pushes through the hallway. He is also on the edge. Again, what is one life going to do? This boy could have grown up to write a book on the meaning of life, that inspired millions, but it’s too late. He has been pushed off the edge and there’s nothing that can be done.
Another girl walks through the hallway, squeezing between people. She makes her way to the bathroom and closes the stall. She carefully lifts up her shirt and peers at her stomach, normal people would see a flat stomach, with ribs just poking through, but she sees fat that needs to be shed. No lunch for her. Her confidence is so far below the chart, it just up and left. Other girls know she is anorexic, but what do they do? They laugh at the lack of food on her tray and her bony composure. This girl is on the edge, ready to fall off. What is one life going to do you ask? This girl could have been a front runner in fashion, setting trends like there was no tomorrow, but it is too late. She’s falling and there’s no way to get her back up.
In the end, three lives have been lost and there’s nothing that can be done. That flower was the acceptance these people were reaching for, but sadly could not grasp. The deed is done. Do you still ask: “It’s just one life, what’s the big deal?” If so, you need a reality check. Each life is a precious glass heart carried through the raging storms of life. Some make it, some just tread water, and some are pushed, off the edge.
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