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Hello, I don't write to inform you or to show you my life story. I write to show that you can move on from the past and let go. The only way you can move on it is to forgive yourself and the people who have hurt your soul. I write for the damaged, to let them know I see them suffering in silence. This book is about overcoming the hells of life and letting yourself enjoy the good things that you have. I wrote this when I was going through a really hard time in my own life. This book was my safe place. It's a place for me to express my feelings and to be 100% open with myself. I hope this makes you think about what you can do to start healing and how we have an effect on others. Treat yourself kindly, and be gentle.

A piece of me. A place to open all my wounds and share my joy. All the poetry here is personal to me. Writing is an escape for me, and only through writing can I put my thoughts and emotions out into the world honestly. Each piece is dated, the day I wrote that poem or some day close to it. This is a poetic documentation of my life's journey so far as well as show my growth as a writer.

I'm lost. Broken. And nobody knows. I help people, and when you help people, you don't get help. I couldn't look at myself think how a mess I was. It was too late for me to be fixed. Nobody could help me. I was too deep in it for being saved. I had too many scars and thought. I already had a broken mind. When I tried to kill myself and failed at it, they brought me to a mental facility. There I meet other teens with different stories and each with their problems. The longer I'm here, the more stories I get the knowledge. We come together to tell our stories so that we can move on from what hurt us in the past and what waits for us in the future. We're all strangers, but we're all living in this messed-up place call life. So can we overcome our broken minds. -2014-

This piece of writing is mostly for myself. I want this to act as my journal. I've always tried to see life from others' perspective. I think it's time to see it from mine. This can act as a rough draft of my life. If you're very nosy and want to know how someone else lives the real life, feel free to read it. It's raw, it's unfinished, it's my outlet.

I gave the best of myself to someone who didn't have anything to lose. I didn't know how to avoid my lover's toxic and abusive flames. My lover's twisted words were like a maze inside of my head that I couldn't escape. Sadly, my lover's actions hypnotized my thoughts and paralyzed my thinking. I learned the hard way that love isn't leaning in for a kiss, and a fist meets you halfway. Love isn't being a punching bag because someone decided they wanted to beat on you today. Love isn't saying I love you just because someone wants to keep you to themselves. I tried to be there for my lover, but I learned it is impossible to fix the broken pieces when the glass has shattered. There will always be pieces that are not repairable. However, I kept going right back to the person who I needed to walk away from. I was afraid, and I wasn't brave enough to wake up from this nightmare! I made the choice to suffer when life is meant to be lived and enjoyed. Will I find the courage to know my worth and know that I deserve better than the distasteful lies that are whispered in my ears? Will I have the strength to fight my insecurities? Will, I set myself free, or will I let my love be the death of me?

Epiphany - sudden insight or understanding. the beauty in yourself will never disappear, your spark may faulter but you will only shine brighter afterwards. this book is for people who don't know how to express their feelings or verbally speak them. "I usually know almost exactly how i feel. the problem is, iI just can't tell anyone." - Meg Cabot this book proves that you can go through millions of rough patches in life, fall down to many times and think that you can't go any further, it proves that no matter what you go through, you can get back up and live your dreams. the dark can swallow everything up so you cannot see the light anymore, but the stars are still there. you are one of those stars, you shine brightly through the darkness. believe in yourself, be yourself, and don't let anyone get into your head. stand strong, and be strong. A.B <3

Sometimes I just need a way to express how I feel when I can't put it into words, I'm sure we all feel that way whether you're a teen or young adult. Mental health deserves to be heard, you deserve to be heard.

There are a lot of things you don't really think about until they happen to you. Take rape, for instance. I always thought, "That won't happen to me. I have a boyfriend. I trust him. He would never take advantage of me like that..." I couldn't have been more wrong. Love in this day and age is often confused for manipulation and abuse. The warning signs are here. The things we say will tell us everything that is wrong. You are worth more than what you think you are. It's not your fault. If they tell you otherwise, get out. Burn the bridge. Always remember someone is waiting for you to walk into their life. Someone needs you. Someone loves you. Getting away from all of the wrong people and finding the right ones could save you. I can promise you right now that it saved me. These are the journal entries and selected poems from my first experience of love that left a unpleasant taste in my mouth- quite literally. I am putting this out for the whole world to see because I hope everyone will learn from my experience. People can see. We have no excuses to continue living our lives in ignorance. ...WARNING... HARMFUL THEMES INCLUDING MENTION OF SUICIDE, SELF HARM, AND RAPE. THIS HAS EXPLICIT CONTENT. RECOVERY AND AWARENESS IS THE PURPOSE OF SHARING. DO NOT READ IF THESE THEMES ARE OFFENSIVE OR HARMFUL TO YOU.

I titled this book my life, my story, on my terms because it's exactly that. I wrote this book in to be able to finally speak my truth about the events that have happened to me and it finally is personalized without any other take on what somebody else thought or what somebody else believes or intake is on all of it. After so long of being told things from others especially those that have never gone through what I have before for so long, I've finally reached a complete point of totally keeping other's opinions out of this. I'm here to tell my story, from parts of my life, and it's all on my terms. I'm the one that went through it, and am here to speak the truth about it. I must say, it feels awesome to be able to finally release this book for all to read my story. I truly hope in return, not only will you no longer have questions about me if you did before, that I will also have inspired or helped you in some sort of way, whether emotionally, mentally, or in a soul type of way and understanding. I explain what's happened in my life, why it's happened, and the solutions I've come too. I also give advice through my own experiences on how to find and be your best self, and how to deal with feelings, emotions, and thoughts. I hope all enjoys this book and can learn or incorporate some of the things that I have done and do into their life to truly benefits them in some type of way.

This is my story. My life. Now before you read or turn away, I must warn you my life is anything but normal. Bad luck seems to follow me and everyone I love. Abuse, drugs, alcohol, heartbreak, loss; all of the above. I still don't know how I am here. Dealing with this endless cycle of depression and darkness.