I've been up all nights. I've been painting and dancing and chain smoking and watching early-morning birds skitter-flitter through trees.

I found a dead puppy in the woods. It was lying on a plastic bag and just its head was buried in the ground. I was high at the time, which I think made the discovery more horrifying than it normally would have been. The creepiness of finding a dead puppy was compounded by the grossness of nearby used condoms and clothing. The moral of this story is: um, I guess there is no moral. Now excuse me while I go throw up.

So just as things are beginning to work out, I'm leaving. I've lived in this city for most of three years and for most of those most of three years things were really horrid. Everyone dying or going insane, drugs drugs and more drugs, attempted murders and actual murders and rape and robberies and abuse and skeezy motherfuckers everywhere. I made the worst decisions and the worst friends. I did everything wrong in every way. I'm scarred now, angry now, afraid now, tougher now, prettier now, ... what was I saying?

Everyone has to grow into themselves and their lives. My old friends have all become so beautiful and I'm proud of them. The three years we've all been away from our hometown have made us into new people and I'm new too but I wish so much that the growing up process wouldn't have been so turbulent. All that's happened will never leave me. I wish it would leave me. I wish I could start over. I will start over. When I'm gone from here I will be newer than ever and I will do everything the way I should've done it from the start.

I solemnly swear:

To never own a car
To never live in the suburbs
To never purposefully hurt an animal
To never give up on everything

oh difficult difficult everything