‎because If I Hadn't Been So Afraid

Maybe It Didn’t Seem Like A Big Deal To You Zach. But Now, I Hope You Understand. My World Was Collapsing. I Needed Those Notes. I Needed Any Hope Those Notes Might Have Offered. And You? You Took That Hope Away. You Decided I Didn’t Deserve To Have It.

How In The World Was I Alone? Because I Wanted To Be. That's All I Can Say. It's All That Makes Sense To Me.

I Miss Video Games Where The Jump-kick Was The Trickiest Combo To Master.

I Felt I Had A Very Innocent Childhood And I Feel Privileged By That. But As An Adult, I Know That There Were People Who Didn't Have That. There Are A Lot Of Teens Who Haven't Had As Easy A Childhood As Me, And Having Literature That Explores These "darker" Parts Helps Relieve The Burden And Stress They May Be Feeling. As A Writer, There Is Often A Temptation To Draw Back When We Write For Teens - To Preserve Their Innocence. But The Reality Is, If Someone Has Already Had That Innocence Taken In Their Life, Then Not Writing About It Is Just Brushing It Under The Rug.

I Tried Getting My Dad To Buy Me A Beeper For My Birthday,” He Says, “but He Thinks Only Doctors And Drug Dealers Need Them.