twenty one.

It was the best of times; it was the end of times.

The school councilor was clueless 'cause I never skipped classes. Perfect attendance. Imperfect accents. Speech impediments they could never really fix and I faked bad eyesight so I could wear glasses. Considered doing something that could cripple me...wanted a wheelchair, wanted the sympathy...

It was the best of times; it was the end of times.

Have you ever stopped and considered the value of friends? Now, I'm not talking "Oh yeah, So-and-so is my friend" type friends. I'm talking true, legitimate friends. Friends that would do anything for you. The type of friends that know exactly what you mean without having to say anything. I am grateful for this.

I've never considered myself a social outcast. Sure, there have been great highs and seemingly earth shattering lows, but when it boils down to it, I've always had a good support system. Unfortunately, that's not how everyone views it. There are people who don't have the type of support I'm sure a lot of us feel. There are people who don't have anyone they can even consider a friend.

These are the people that inspire me.

These are the people that show me that no matter how hard I feel life is, there's always a silver lining. There's always a brighter side to my shortsighted frustration, my foolish humiliation. No matter how merciless our ongoing predicaments may seem, we can take solace in the fact that there are individuals out there who have felt more than we may ever feel. There are people who understand our "pain", and then some...and they still manage to keep themselves positive.

Next time you're thinking about how tough things are, I encourage you to imagine yourself as the person who might have penned the italicized portion of this post.

It is the best of times; it is the end of times.