I am a child.

I am a child that is grown.

I am a part of the new generation.

 

I am depression

thrust upon a child at the age of 14.

“That science project,” I say,

“you are going to fail it either way.

Whether you do it or not.

You can and will fail.”

 

I am anxiety

thrust upon a child in the midst of a depression.

She was 15.

“Don’t do that.” I tell her.

I only thought it would help.

“Keep your mouth shut,

bite your tongue,

sit straight,

don’t look around.”

I repeat the same words every day.

 

I am suicide.

I threaten the girl’s mind.

I thrive in the same girl that depression and anxiety do.

I wound the casing of their home.

I fill the holes that they cannot.

 

I am a heart,

broken and swollen.

Broken due to all of the heartbreak.

The heartbreak that no one else can compare to.

Swollen with the love of a girl,

a girl that knows that she shouldn’t love because it will only lead to more destruction.

 

I am scars,

the scars of a girl that has broken.

She has broken from the lack of feeling.

The lack of feeling of:

love,

hatred,

belief,

strength.

 

I am love.

The love of a mother that was never felt.

A love that has an unbreakable bond.

A love that cares more about this girl than she will ever understand.

 

I am hatred.

A hatred that is fueled by itself.

The self hatred of a girl that wants to die.

A girl that wants to love herself but can’t.

 

I am belief.

The belief that hatred is the new beauty.

The belief that there is no love in the world.

The belief that no one can control anything.

Most of all the belief that there is no way to heal the scars of the wounded and broken.

 

I am strength.

The strength of a girl that has had enough.

A girl that is no longer alive on the inside.

A girl that has put up with people for too long.

 

At least in her eyes,

for now.

 

I am a girl.

A girl that has lasted.

A girl that has hope.

I have become the girl I used to be.

The girl that has become a warrior.

A warrior,

of the new generation.

The generation that is going to last.

The generation that will change everything.

 

The new generation is comprised of the future

and the future is never set in stone.

That stone may be the same stone used by our ancestors to create the wheel.

This generation will have another use for that stone.

This generation will become the past, the present, and the future.

This generation is built upon empires of the past.

Empires that have failed and fallen with death.

This generation has the ability to do a legion of great things for this world.

Never once have I met a younger person whom when things go wrong they flee or become disgruntled.

Always there is that one person who defies the odds.

That person is this generation.

The generation of depressed cheerleaders and suicidal maniacs.

The generation of the kids that have the ability to overcome great obstacles.

 

These kids may be young but trust me,

they will change the world.

 

I am Shayna.

I am 16.

I have overcome the obstacles that have been out in front of me.

I will continue to jump over the hurdles that people say I can’t get over.

I am a part of the new generation.