insanity. ashton irwin

prologue

The earphones blocked every single sound around me. Even though I could see the cars moving, the people talking and the small city being alive, the only sounds that made it into my ears were the tunes of an acoustic guitar. Multiple faces were passing by. Everyone different in their own way. Small scratches, different skin color and characteristics that varied, made every single face differ and create individuals who carried their own stories.It is quite weird if you think about it. Even though the world is consisted by what is labeled as females and males, people have managed to make it completely diverse.

Stories are fascinating. Everybody has their own. No one can really know someone's story before meeting them in a more personal level. Stories can be stale; a trail of tragic events that sometimes are referred to with no emotion. But the thing is, when you listen to somebody talking about their own personal story, the emotion just bursts through the wall that has been created. A story can be considered stale when it's narrated by a third person with no involvement, who is not really able to get into someone's shoes, because they simply believe that it is too extreme to ever happen to them.

That is an absolute lie. People's lives can change in seconds. Nothing can be taken for granted in this "trap". We did not chose to be born and we do not really chose when to die, unless we are talking about suicide which is not really part of my point. But what we all seem to do is live our lives as if we are infinite. No one knows if we are going to wake up tomorrow, but yet everyone makes plans about the future. No one is living every single moment as if it was their last. Things change. Most people are afraid of change and I have come down to realize that I do not defer on that. Change, and generally the unknown, is terrifying.

Today is like this. A terrifying day that may result to unknown problems that may result to drastic change, good or bad. But I am not afraid, because as my mother once told me, there is an answer to the hardest problem. It's just the decision you need to take so you can recognize it.

I truly do not want to be here right now. My boots and jean jacket were enough to keep the cold air away from my body, keeping me warm. The sun was out but the warmth was lacking. Summer was gone. The times were I could just sit outside for hours were gone too. That brought sadness to my heart because i had some certain spots in this city that I loved more than anyone and anything. I would sit there for hours, maybe even days, without having to inform anyone about my location. Since school was not an issue for me for a couple of years now, I had all the time in the world to find true happiness in these places. And maybe also try and find myself too.

The automatic glass doors opened wide in front me, while the hot air from inside the building hit me, changing the temperature of my body completely. As soon as I stepped into the tall metal colored building I could smell this distinguishable smell that hospitals have. It's almost like plastic, medicine, tears and sadness combined. Even though this hospital was located quite far from the center of the town, I could still recognize some familiar faces sitting around at the waiting room next to the nurse behind the desk.

I decided to finally take my earphones out. The sounds filled my ears. Doctors yelling, squeaking wheels of beds being moved around, doctors walking, nurses talking. It was a plethora of noises, some of them louder than others. I hated this place. I never come here. This is just for her. To be honest, I know nothing is wrong.

You see, being different is seen as being ill for centuries now. Whatever people do not want to hear just label it as wrong or crazy just because it does not follow their mindsets. Most people have created certain boxes in their minds, labeled under categories. These boxes can be expanded but it needs work and self exploration, which can be quite dreadful to do.

I looked around, familiarizing myself with my surroundings as much as possible. I do not like this place. Everyone in here has a perception around life that I do not agree with. I believe that places like these are the ones that lead people the insanity. But what is insanity, and who sets what the norm is?