How it affected me

This picture? This is a picture of a make-shirt candle that I used at the candlelight vigil of my missing childhood friend. She has been missing since April. This picture is a symbol of my story. It's not my own, like most of these stories, though in a sense, it is. This is a story of other peoples stories that have touched and affected me.

I've always thought my secrets topped everyone else's. They were embarrassing and sinful. I've hid them for so long but the guilt was always there. I had never considered myself very sheltered, but when I realized the darkness of this world, it hit me like a ton of bricks and crushed my childlike innocence.
This is the story of how personal struggles affect more than just the people involved. It's hard to explain this without telling my whole story so please read if you want to be mildly depressed though maybe, hopefully, inspired.