Poems by a Stressed Out Teenager

12

Dedicated to all those who's parents weren't parents.

How can you have parents and not have them at the same time?

My mom never talked to me about relationships, about how people change, about this fucked-up world, about money, she did not even tell me about periods. I had to find it all out on my own.
Little did I know, when I let that boy walk in and out of my heart that he was going to rip my soul into pieces. Little did I know that one of my best friends was going to become much stranger than strangers. Little did I know that somebody may say they love you, but they may not mean it. Little did I know that feelings
change. One day you could sleep with the person you love and wake up with someone you don't.
My dad never talked to me about boys; about that being yourself is everything, about not letting people
bring you down, about religion, about sex. I had to find it all out on my own. Now I know that some boys only need you when they need sex. I know that people can betray you, but this doesn't mean that they are bad, or that you are. It just means that people are people and we often make mistakes. It's okay. We go through it. We learn. We move forward.
I know that to be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to
make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. I know that you may be soulmates with someone, but not end up together. I know that life has a lot of wonderful moments to offer, but between them you may want to die. I know that my religion is simple. My religion is kindness. I taught myself to grow from the dirt that they left me in.

How can you have parents and not have them at the same time?