Love. Friends. Family. Flirting. Teasing. Running. Music. Singing. Recording. Writing. Prosing. Drawing. Bonds. Fanfiction. Poetry. Confidence. Happiness. Life.

Pain. Anger. Fury. Revenge. Blood. Torment. Tormenting. Sadism. Masochism. Grief. Failure. Destroying. Breaking. Bones. Sadness. Death.

Everything.

You can't have happiness without pain.

That's life for me.

If a day is happy completely, my life doesn't feel full and accomplished. It has to have some failure, some sadness. Something bad, something good. That's what makes life livable for me.

You have to have some bad for the good.

Those storybooks aren't always right. There's not always a happy ending.

Good doesn't have to win in order for the world to live happy. There always has to be a balance.

Yin and Yang.

Black and White.

Sad and Happy.

That's what makes life worth living for, and what makes death worth dying for.

I just finished working as a resident advisor/counselor for a summer program that aims to help high school kids get into college. They tend to come from low income families or families where nobody attended college before, and the actual program stays with them through the entire school year, as well as during the one month summer program.

I've had to wear many hats. Other than spending time with the kids during meals, events, and activities, I've taught two classes: yearbook/photoshop and improv. I feel like I've been a friend, mom, sister, grandmother, aunt, teacher, supervisor, official photographer (my Facebook album is intense, I am a bit proud), entertainer, etc. to these kids, and, overall, it's been pretty tough sometimes since, eventually, everything piles up. The job pretty much requires us to be on 24/7 from Sunday evenings to Friday afternoons, and it can be a bit exhausting. But, on the other hand, spending time with these kids makes the experience worth it. They are so smart and sweet and I'm really glad I got to meet them and be a part of their lives. I truly believe that they can do great things.

I feel that, growing up, I haven't really had anyone as a role model, and I wanted to try and be something like that for the kids. In a way, this is one of the things that keep me going because I want to do my best in life and accomplish things so that they could see that, for them as well, anything is possible. Because of that, I try to "dream big" and set goals that I can hopefully accomplish one day, like teach abroad for a year, or eventually get a Master's and maybe a PhD. If I could do it, there's no reason that they can't do it as well. Although I believe that they deserve the best, there's not much I can do for them. All I can do is give them my time and attention, and hopefully this helps.

I worked for the summer program last year as well and, when I came back this year, it was great to see just how much these kids have grown over such a period of time. Seeing their progress, spending time and having fun with them, as well as the fact that they seem to like me, often makes me think that, in my own way, I am making some sort of a difference. Despite so many awful things happening in the world, moments like that make me think that life is actually worth it.

-my best friend, who listens (a bit distantly) to (almost) everything I say and responds with goals for me.

-doing things with the aforementioned best friend.

-my family being (sufficiently) functional (at best) 74% of the time.

-doing things with my family.

-being (somewhat of) a role model for my little brother, or at least taking care of him (unless he's moody).

-the hope that someday things will get better.

-compliments.

-sunsets.

-feeling accomplished.

-Green Day

-Fall Out Boy

-My Chemical Romance

-twenty one pilots

-Panic! At The Disco

-All Time Low

-Walk The Moon

-music.

-new things.

-new friends.

-old friends.

-the feeling of being alone.

-the feeling of being in a group.

-the feeling of having a place.

-the feeling of feeling something.

I live for the moment . And the future . I live for my brother and my family . I live for art and music and inspiration . I live for parties and celebrations of any kind . I live for love and heartbreak . And for the change of the seasons . I live for my friends. I live for acceptance and forgiveness and my desire for true love . I don't live for myself . I live for what I'm expected to be . Not who I really am . Cause I'm not accepted as myself . I'm only excepted as who people want me to be . No who I want to be

What makes my life worth living?

walking into the morning air and feeling the new day wash over me.

Watching the sunrise and knowing that anything can happen.

Realizing that dreams are attainable.

Accepting that there is magical properties to life that we are never supposed to understand.

Filling inquiring minds with knowledge of communication.

Learning more from people than I could ever teach.

Smiling at strangers and having smiles returned .

Falling in love with people and places all over the world.

The comfort of knowing I have many places I can call home and the chaos of knowing that I never want to settle in one place.

It's the little things in the big world. It's a lot of everything.

Once upon a time there was a twelve year old girl

by this age she'd been raped years past and molested

by a Doctor while her own mother was in the room;

so too, had she lost her first pet to a car accident,

and needless to say, she felt all alone in the world.

Then, one day her Mom took her to the shelter

told her she could pick out any one of the kittens

and so she visited each and every one for a minute

but swore she wouldn't pick one of the grey ones,

lest it remind her of her passed-away-first-pet, Blue.

Even so, she knew the grey fluff-ball mixed-mutt,

who was picked up with a litter of six in a warehouse

was the only one she was meant to go home with,

and so, despite a momentary gender mix-up, she did;

he rode in the back window, and she had a name to pick.

He was almost Lynx, but she had a thing for Piano,

with his dog-like paws, she named him Wolfgang,

though he's always been called his Meowjesty Wolfie

from the first day and for the seventeen years since then;

fuzzy-butt, meow-mouth, grumpy-pants, and bubee.

He has lived and traveled much of the east coast of Florida,

moved sixteen hours in the cab of a U-haul to Greater Cincinnati,

and another nine hours, likewise, to the heart of Virginia,

a friend, foster-brother, companion, and loved to infinity!

Before he went deaf, he knew five commands and walks on a leash,

Wolfie is one of the biggest parts of what makes my life worth living!

- M.E.

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Each morning I wake up thinking this would be another ordinary day. Another routine, another road to cross. Always ecstatic to meet my friends because I know there would be adventure coming our way. Just plain happy and contented and living my life from day to day.

But then I met him. He gave me hope. Love. Happiness. Security. I experienced the pain of heartbreak and the feeling of being whole. I felt safe. Warm. Cherished and cared for. Something I never expected I would find at this early stage in life. Now each morning I would wake up having something to look forward to. I know, that at the end of the day, I would be spending it with him and sharing all my laughter and tears with him. I know it's worth it, because we have dreams. We have visions. We hope for a better future. For a happy family. For a better life ahead of us. We're like soulmates. And I don't know how you know, or if there should ever be a description for soulmates, but I just know. I know that he's the one and that til' death i'll be spending my life with him. There's a long road ahead of us full of happiness, adventure and pain. So for today, we're just making both of our lives worth living for. And I guess that's enough.

"You won't make it"

The words tear against my ear drums like they had so many times before

"Give up"

Many times I had succumb to the advice that many of the supposed loved ones had wished for me.

Instead I used it as motivation

Life is worth living because I have the ability to achieve a goal.

I have the freedom to do what people say I can't.

I have faith that everything happens for a reason and what is happening is just making me a better me. Life is worth living because I can pick a pathway I want to go in and break down every obstacle and have the satisfaction of saying...

....I made it!

Life. Life is what makes my life worth living. All of the beautiful things that surround me. The laugh of a child. The feel of the rain. The whisper of a kiss. All of life is what makes life worth living. Even the ugly things. The stories ending in one last breath. The collapsing of a building. The pain of a broken heart. Life makes life worth living. The ups, downs and turn-arounds. Everything about it. The feel of the sun. The bite of the cold. Everything that makes one feel alive. The late night talks. The early morning cup of coffee. Life IS worth living. There is no question to it. What makes my life worth living? The colours of the rainbow. The release of a razor. All of it. Every little bit of it. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Life will always be worth living...until my story is at its end. And even then...I will continue to live a beautiful life in memories and words. Each time dying as someone else’s story ends. But being reborn as someone else’s story begins. Life is worth living because life never ends. Life is life...and it’s meant to be lived.

The sun does shine

Over the flowers to whom he gives life

Above the mountains that feel to be mine

The sun does shine

Through the rivers in which his own brightness reflects

Upon the coldness whom he puts to an end;

And on all malice, on serpents' skin whom he does not neglect

Over the sunflowers who to reach him constantly tend;

The sun does shine

Oh, so divine!

The sun does shine

And all the green meadows bloom.

Even through the windows of my dark room

All wheres life again renews

It adds brightness to the gloomy views

Though on all these wonders he perfectly shines

Im more fond of a place where all his magic lies

One even prettier than when he reveals glitters on ice

I love it best when on his eyes.