Told As Viewed

It is normal for a teenager to have no sense of belonging. It's a quest that everyone takes on at some point in their adolescent lives. Finding this sense is effortless for some, but it's not exactly a drink of water for most others. It's disturbing how the incorporation of emotion and thought can lead to tragic acts.

Teen suicide has increased a lot lately, so much so that it has become one of the major causes of death in Canada. So, what relevance does that have to me? Suicide is ridiculous to me. If you already know me, then you know that I have a strong belief in logic and common sense. I know how strong emotion can be and what it can do to a person's psychological state. However, I also believe that the mind conquers all. How so?

I can not remember the last time I cried -which is sad- but I do remember how I stopped it. In addition, I never accept anything as true without having any evidence to its accuracy. Therefore, I do not expect anyone to take my word for anything. All of which leads back to my previous point, the mind conquers all. People cry upon encountering emotional turmoil. The argument, emotion, the rebuttal, the mind. When I cried, I always ended up going up to a mirror, looking at myself, and saying "I wonder what would happen if I smile…SMILE! " and I would smile. I like to believe that it was my mind that stepped up and destroyed the emotional arsenal. But who knows? Maybe I just have ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), though my cousin, Karim, who always makes sense, thinks it's most unlikely that I do, and i agree.

Upon writing what you've read so far, I managed to baffle myself. That happened as I thought of you, my audience. I think that even though this is supposed to be an outlet of mine, I crave for leaving my audience dumbfounded. That's why I wondered what my audience would be thinking as they get to this point. Or maybe I just have ADD. I figured my audience would wonder, "if the mind conquers all, then how come our emotions play a huge role in the determining our mood, and the decisions we make?"

A feeling is an opinion or belief, not based on reasoning. It is triggered by emotion; a chain reaction which could block out the mind. With that being said, the absence of the mind does not qualify as the mind being conquered, rather its being a spectator. The mind can only conquer itself. When the mind decides to ignore itself, emotion takes hold of the situation. It is up to you to allow your mind to react.

I have made it my mission to help you, my audience, learn from my mistakes, in hopes that you yourself do not have to deal what I have; skip right to the, moral, if you will. So, what I have learned is that emotion tends to distort the mind, and sabotage logic. If ever you find yourself in a state of intense emotional agitation, you must write. Grab a pen and a pad, and write down anything, a letter for instance. Once you're done writing it, put it aside, sleep on it, not literally of course, and read it the next day. By then, you aren’t drunk with emotion, and your mind would have the chance to retaliate to whatever event took place.

I picked this method up from my uncle, who in turn picked it up from a friend of his. It always worked for her, as it did for me. We can only hope it to work for others just as well.

It sounds logical enough, maybe that's why it worked for both her and me…

Or maybe we just both have ADD…

The Drug

Sitting down to write this was not a decision that I made. The decision was made for me. It's sad I think, that in order to be able to sit down and write something that is significant, I must be feeling like I am right now. This intense emotional agitation that takes away sleep, and puts…let's just say "ideas" in my head, could also drive me to write something which I believe would inspire. I would like to share what I've learned and hope it will reach someone. I'm not saying I have a clue what to do, but I am hoping that by organizing my thoughts I would have at least some idea on how to react.

Addiction, I never believed in it. I think I underestimated its abilities. Fighting or avoiding addiction is not as easy as you might think. It is a very cunning foe. I used to think addiction was limited to drugs, and you probably guessed by now that I believe other wise. Drugs by definition are anything that changes or enhances the way you feel. Drugs can be helpful. Alcohol for example, from what I've read, can wash the pain away for a certain period of time. After that, the pain is back, so is the alcohol, and so an addiction begins to take shape. I believe that almost all drugs are harmless, unless used wrong. Then again, it all comes down to what your definition of a drug is.

People wonder about love. I have thought about it a lot. People often ask, "What is love to you?" with "Facebook" as a reference, here's what you guys think love is:

· love is the most beautiful thing in the world
· love is great
· Don't believe in it
· Love is just a beautiful thing, but it hurts too…
· If love dies I die
· A pain in the ass!
· When you feel cold and your heart beats 10000 times per minute

Sounds just about right don't it? Some have faith in what they believe is love. Others do not believe in love to start with.
I've been asked that question a few times before, and my answer was basically similar to everyone else's answer, but that was before I found out what I truly believe love is. Brace yourselves…

Love is a drug. First of all, it is addictive. I don’t believe anything is more addictive than love.
Though you have to realize it's different than most other drugs in the sense that once you take the first taste, you're stuck forever. There's no rehab for love. The lucky ones are the ones who hold out on it until they reach "The age". Let's face it, no matter how much you believe that you can find love at teenage and that it would last forever, it's just not going to happen. It only does in a few cases, and it kills you when you find out you are not one of them. But by the time you find that out, you’re already addicted to it, and you won't stop until you find it. You go from one relationship to the next, every time with hopes that this one is it, only to be disappointed time and time again.

I guess I'm writing this because I'm tired of looking around me, and seeing all these amazing people brought down by love. I can tell you that you don't need to do this, because I know how it feels, and I know it's not exactly something that you can bounce out of. The bad news is, people are going to hurt you, and you are going to hurt people no matter how hard you try not to.
So my advice would be this, since you are going to go through with love anyway, it's not like you have a choice, do not take a relationship, from a dating situation to a real relationship, unless it is absolutely perfect. I think everything that feels interesting should be given a chance. Even though most of it won't work out, you can always end it as soon as u feel its not right, and you will improve your knowledge of "the drug".

But hey…I guess that goes back down to your definition of perfect.

Take care of yourselves, just like I'm going to take care of mine.