If I Had A Chance With Him,

You Told Me I Wrote That Poem Because I Was Afraid Of Dealing With Myself. And I Used My Mom As An Excuse, Accusing Her Of Not Appreciating Or Accepting Me, When I Should Have Been Saying Those Words Into A Mirror.

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.

And It Feels Strange, Almost Sad, To Walk Through Ther Empty Halls. Each Step I Take Sounds So Lonely.

The Main Thing I Wanted To Say, And Thankfully It’s What Most People Say They Get Out Of The Book, Is Simply An Acknowledgement That We Do Affect Each Other In Ways We Can’t Predict.

The Longer You Wait, And This Is True, The Slower The Hands Will Move.