Journal #9

"Lockdown"

Personally, I think that these social issues are crazy. Hearing about people in my age group getting murdered, just by being in the wrong place at the wrong time is sickening. It's something that shouldn't be going on, but it seems to be happening more and more. Violent video games and movies are, in my opinion, playing a huge role in this problem. The tough guys are portrayed as the most respected and I think that our generation believes in that theory a little too much. I've seen my own six-year-old sister become aggressive, just after seeing movies that influenced that type of behaviour. It's something that needs to be controlled and they display it too much to us. We're seeing things that are warping our minds and our common sense of what's right and what's wrong.


One movie I've watched that showed a great example of school shootings was a film called Elephant. It showed the minds of everyone involved in shooting, involving the victims. The film followed the shooters in their planning, the victims in their day leading to the event and the event itself. It's graphic but so eye-opening. The boys that caused the shooting, were two boys that played violent war-type video games and weren't very socially accepted. Thinking that violence was the way to solve their problems, due to the playing of those video games, they tried it out. In the end, one of the shooters even shot the guy that was helping him shoot everybody else. It was absaloutely insane and jaw-dropping to witness that type of behaviour, especially because you never know if something like that is going to happen at your school.


I wasn't at school on the October lockdown, but I remember a threat occurring when I was in grade nine. We didn't have the lockdown procedure, but a note was found in the hall way about a student bringing a gun to school. It wasn't handled as well as it would be now, but I didn't come to school the next day. I was too scared of something happening. A few of my friends went, but I tried to tell them to not risk it and just stay home. It was a very scary, traumatizing thought to think that in just twenty-four hours, everyone's life could have been turned upside down if that threat became more than a threat.


It's almost unreal to hear about students living their day normally, and it being their last. You don't think that when you walk into those school doors, you'd never walk out. We should feel safe going places, now we can't even feel safe in our learning environment. The streets were always rough in certain places, now, it's progressed to the whole town. I hear about shootings all the time in this town. Just recently, when I was at work on Drummond, there was a shooting, due to drugs. A man was shot and killed, right across the street from me. With seventeen cop cars, ambulences and many on-lookers, the street was packed. A few of us left work to go see what was happening and it was crazy. I walked into work, with that street clear. Five hours later, the street was taped off and somebody's life was over, for nothing. It's amazing, but in the worst way possible, of how much our society has changed. People these days get beat up just for not paying back someone five dollars, and shot and killed for holding it off for a while. The reasons are ridiculous, but the people doing it thinks it gives them respect and let's people know not to mess around with them. It gives them nothing but a bad reputation and a criminal record. To me, someone who carries around a gun as a sign of how manly they are, is nothing more than someone who can't fight their own deamons. I really think society needs a wake-up call, before we get out of control and kill our own race off completely.

Journal #8

Free Write
"My Experience With Family"

Family, for some people, is the most stable, sure thing they have in their lives. For me, family has never been the most stable and definitely not the most sure. We've all been split apart into our own ways and into our new lives. We are all so different, but so similar at the same time. It's almost not good. That similarity causes us to fight the exact same about the differences. Some fights have brought us closer, while others, were the end of a complete family. It's sad to say, but maybe things really turned out for the better because of it. I've never been able to open up about any of this, mainly because I've been afraid to tell it. This journal though, might be a good place to start.


When I was only in elementary, around grade 6, things got bad with my parents. They finally filed for divorce while I was in grade 7 when things finally got too bad. That was where the division of my family began. My dad and brother lived together in the house, while my mother and I were living with my grandparents. It was almost like the battle of the sexes, until my mother and I faught and I went to my dad's as well. My mom would come to my father's to visit me there and one night, things got completely out-of-control. They faught, and my dad tried to kill himself while I was standing right there. It was one of the most disturbing sights ever, and it's something that will never leave me. At that point, I moved in with my mother again. My brother stayed, hoping that he could try and help my father out.


Finally, my mom got our house back and my father decided to move out with my brother, into a new house. We sold the old house and got a new place with my mom's boyfriend and his younger daughter. It was a new family, but an uncomfortable one for me. His daughter was only 1 at the time, and she seemed to be the new favourite. There was a lot of jealousy I had towards her and my mom's boyfriend. They all seemed to get the love that I used to once get from her. I decided to finally bring it up and was then told to move back with my dad and brother. I did, and highly regret it.


Alcohol and drugs never seemed like something my parents experienced, until I moved back into my dad's and it was all I was around. Case after case of beer, drug after drug.. it was disgusting. My brother knew he had to get out as well, and shortly after I left and stopped talking to my father, my brother moved in with his girlfriend, where he still lives today. I was at my grandmother's now, and felt like I was going to end up without a place to even stay. I then decided, to give my mother's place another chance.


Moving back there, was okay for a while, but then it got bad. I was in high-school now and experimenting with parties and my mom hated it. I was rebelling in hope for attention, but got it in all of the wrong ways. It caused us to fight more and eventually, I was living at my best-friend Ashley's house. I lived there for about six-months. My mom then got me to come home, and I was constantly moving in and out of her house to my grandmother's. Eventually, I gave up on both of the houses, due to my grandmother getting sick and the stress it caused her and the lack of space there for me to stay. I haven't been home since that point. I moved in with my boyfriend at the time, Nick. We lived alone in an apartment, that his mom payed for. It seemed to be the life, but we just didn't seem like the life for each other. We broke up after six months of me living with him. I moved back in with Ashley at that point, and now live with my boyfriend.


I don't talk to my father now, unless it's to get my cheque every month for support. My mother and I text, but have not seen each other in a really long time. I still see my grandmother, and we talk all the time. My brother, I couldn't even recall the last time I saw, or talked to him. Divorce doesn't just seperate the parents, in my case. It seemed to seperate us all into places and situations we never thought we'd be in. Family should always be something you know is there for you, something you cherish and respect. I feel like my family has last a huge sense of what family truly is. A lot of our loss has to do with new families being formed, and the fear of being replaced by it, which I can put a lot of that blame on myself, but at the same time, I needed to be shown the reassurance that that wasn't going to happen. Overall, If I could go back in time, I would change so many of the actions I made. Getting my mom to come over to my dad's to see me, stupid fights, the amount of bags packed.. it's definitely over-whelming. I guess, all-in-all, I'm a more mature person today because of it, I just wish things could have turned out different.

Journal #7

"The Best When"

If I could transport anyone I wanted, wherever I wanted, I would definitely pick wisely. I would deeply consider my life, it's current situations and who I know I could really spend that time with, to just pick up and get away. Picking something childish like a celebrity, is something I would never do. Yes, don't get me wrong.. it would be great to be trapped on a beautiful island with David Beckham, but it's just not realistic or satisfying for me. People I actually know, and have good relationships with would be a better choice for me. I would want to be surrounded with people I can actually talk to and that I know I'll be able to have a good time with. People that are actually there for me when I need them, because I definitely wouldn't want to be in a new place, where I know hardly anyone, with someone that I can't completely rely on or trust.


Firstly, I would love to go someone that's far away from Niagara Falls. I've been here too long and would love to get away, within the restriction that I could take whoever I wanted, which is the case here. I would probably have to pick Italy. I've never been there and I'm not even Italian, but the culture seems beautiful. It seems like a great place to experience and a great place to get away and start a new life, with all the people I need in it. I've heard great things about Italy from people I know that have visited and it sounds absaloutely breath-taking. It's a place I would definitely love to experience.


The people I would take, would be a small amount. Firstly, I would have to take my mother. Though we don't have the greatest relationship right now and seem to have a lot of falling outs, she's still always there and still loves me for me. My mother has always kept in contact with me, even when we can hardly be civil in person. Currently, we haven't seen each other in over two months, but we still text all the time. We love each other and will always have each other's backs, but there comes a point when everyone fights and it just takes time for us because we are so similar. I think getting away would give us a chance to get away from this town and the negative influences and get a clean slate, a chance to have a great relationship again.


My grandmother is another person I would have to take. She's so influential on my life and although she's getting old and frail, I think going away would be a great experience for her before it's too late to do anything like that. I owe her that to get her away to enjoy life one last time. Even though her breathing problems stop her from taking flight, I would find a way to get her there, that would make it easier on her. She would love to visit such a beautiful place and feel young again and I would love to give her that feeling. I respect her so much and it would be a great way for us to spend some quality time together, before we no longer can.


Currently, I have a live-in boyfriend, that has completely turned my life around for the better. It might be crazy for people to hear that I live with my boyfriend, but it's a great relationship. He pushes me to do good in school and wants me to do good with my life, which is something I really needed in my life. I would love to just get away with him and experience the world. We both know that the falls isn't for us and we can't wait until the option comes to leave this place. This would give us that opportunity. Some people say that I'm too young for love, but I really found it. It's not the childish love, where after a week you're head over heels. It was the type of relationship that took a lot of time and once we got there, it was great. For all of his support and help that he's given me to get through things, I would owe it to him to take him somewhere great.


My last pick would be my best-friend, Ashley. She'd be a great person to take away. She's been there for me since we were only in grade three and we've been together ever since. When I had no place to go, she took me in and helped me and I really respect her and her family for that. I couldn't ask for a better friend than her. We've been in fights, but who hasn't. They've done nothing but make us stronger in the end. Not only would it be extremely fun to take her with me, but it would be something that I almost wouldn't want to even experience without my childhood friend by my side.


Getting away to such a great country would be amazing. It would be an experience like no other and I would love for nothing more than to experience with the people I love most in my life. One day I hope that we can all actually get away and go somewhere, but for now, it's just a hope. I've only traveled as far as Myrtle Beach and going somewhere that's a new foreign country would be so exciting. It would be a life changing experience, and I would love to give those people the opportunity to experience it also.

Journal #6

"The Myth of Technology"

Think back to your great-great-grandparents. Think back to the years they lived and how different life was for them. Things seem so different these days to even compare. Almost everyone was slim, enjoying family quality time, working at reasonable hours and mainly they weren't stuck to a television or computer screen. As much as I love being able to communicate easier with friends through texts, messages on facebook and watch my favourite shows, it leaves us dry of real-life communication skills.


When texting, you lose sense of the body-language, which can really make it hard to understand exactly how a person is saying what they are. An exclamation point can come across as anger, but maybe the person is really just excited. It's also hard to get eye-contact, which is a main thing when it comes to finding out if someone's telling you the truth or not. Technology has left us to do nothing but talk electronically to each other, almost like robots. To top off texting, there's facebook, one of today's most addicted websites for not just teens anymore, but adult's as well. It's really taking over today's reality. My mother, who hardly even knows how to use a computer, is now on facebook and owns a cell phone. Even my grandparents have cell phones. Things have changed so much since the early days.


Everyone is getting obsessive over electronics. It's causing us to put off school work, and when we do do our work, especially on the computer, we easily get sidetracked onto something we shouldn't be on. I know so many people that will freak out because they can get on to facebook to check their Farmville (a new electronic farm life on facebook.) It's ridiculous to me. You look back and see that everyone used to be thin and energetic, now nobody will get up and do something because they are too busy with the computer causing them to literally eat in-front of the screen and gain weight. I've witnessed people hold off chores, homework and family time, just to sit online, not even for just a little amount of time, but twelve hours on the computer at a time. Not only is that bad for you physically, the amount of electricity being used will really add up.


Electronics are causing people to be more lazy, but some of them, are causing people to work harder. There are new appliances out in restaurants to help cooks out, but they have to learn how to use it and work non-stop to actually use it and clean every machine up. Mechanics also have to work really hard as well, due to the constant new upgrade on a machine. It's insane how many times they can change a simple machine.


I-pods and Blackberries are also things I could never understand, or really want to invest in. Yes, I love music and would love to carry it around with me everywhere I went, but there are constantly upgrades to them, it's almost a waste to buy it. Everytime Apple comes out and says that they have just invented the best I-pod yet, you automatically want it and could care-less about the one you just bought last week. Blackberries aswell, I've never been so confused as to what the name of a phone is. Blackberry Curve, Blackberry Bold, Blackberry Storm, etc. It's getting to be too much at this point. The constant upgrades, is a pitch they use to make more money. The only thing they really ever change is the size of the phone and the name, while I-pods will change the amount of space it can hold. Everyone needs to stop buying into these electronics and realize that what they have is fine, especially if it still works.


Overall, I think that electronics are messing us up. It's physically hurting us, mentally draining us and making us less perceptive of how to hold real conversations and confrontations. I think that if we didn't have so many different versions of Windows and so many different phones and music devices, we would be able to get out more often and actually do something with our lives. Yes, computers are great for school work and checking up on your profiles once-in-a-while, like a normal person should, but over doing it by spending twelve or more hours a day infront of an electronic, is definitely the electronics controlling us, not us controlling the electronics.

Journal #5

"The Irony of Education"

In North America, we as a society, are used to pre-school, elementary, high-school and then the adventures of post-secondary. Sometimes, it seems like it's never going to end, and we can't wait to get it over and done with and on with what we've been studying for. Once you get to a third-world country, such as Africa, schooling isn't as optional. Students there will take as much education as they can get, because for them, it's something that isn't quick to come by. The economy there is so different, in ways that I probably couldn't even explain, mainly because I've never been there to see it for myself. From what I've heard and seen on television though, it's a place of sickness and death, but the children still seem joyful to have what they have. Here, we're used to having our family with us everyday, not on their deathbed due to AIDS, we're in school everyday and have the option of going tomorrow. These children never know when they'll get sick as well and not be able to go anymore, so they really want to take every chance they can to go.


We are so unaware of the things that happen in other countries that we continue to go on with our lives as if nothing wrong is even happening. We don't seem to clue in that while we are sitting in class, taking advantage of it and slacking off, there are students that couldn't go that day, because their mother just died of HIV right in-front of them. They realize more that life is short and that the best opportunites are hard to come by. In a place like Africa, they have not only the need for education, but the want and strive. Here, in North America, there are constantly students skipping out on class and even some students that just don't bother going three or four days out of the five day school week. Students there, will run miles a day, there and back, just to make sure they make it to school. I can't remember the last time I, personally, or anyone else I know ran to school to make sure they got there before the bell. It's just another way we take advantage of it. We figure, a few minutes late won't hurt, well.. if we're a few minutes late, why even bother going to class? That's the state of mind that us as so called "role-model" students need to get out of.


North Americans are too used to having things just handed to them. We have had education our whole life, supplies for class, clothing, food, shelter.. everything's always been there, for the majority of us. There are some people that are put in situations where their life at home could effect their schooling, living or job arrangement, causing them to drop-out, lose their job or even their home. We waste our money on stupid things like fast food and brand name clothing, while in third-world countries, their lucky to find a full meal for the day and hardly have enough clothing to cover them. We take all of those things for granted, not just our education. I blame the way our economy has evolved over the years. Everything these days is about high maintenance and looking your best, and I will admit, I'm one of the people that can sometimes fall into that category, so I can elaborate on that. Telling our parents that we need a certain sweater as opposed to just wanting it, finding the highest priced brand, buying brand make-ups, shoes, going out with friends to drink and smoke up when times get rough and blowing off school to do something that might be a little more fun. Everyone gets a wake-up call though and realizes life isn't always a party, there is a time where brands don't matter, looks aren't everything and that there's a time to have fun with your friends later. Third-world countries understand that a lot better than we do.


Here, we are stuck in the era of impression. We are constantly worried about losing, not friends, but a social status. Having school smarts, makes you street stupid, which in some places can be a scary thing. I personally, beleived in that for a really long time, until I finally realized some of my friends were getting ready to graduate, and I was behind a credit because I thought I could just ease through the course. Impressions can do that to a person. You think you finally have yourself in a stable place, good friends that won't let you down and you're having a great time, until you realize you've lost yourself. The friends you thought were good friends, are never there and you're stuck with a failing grade going into the final exam. It's at that moment, you almost wish you had the mentality of someone in a country across the world. You wish that you thought things through a little better and realized that school really doesn't go on forever, and when it does come to an end, you need that passing mark, or you'll be stuck there for much longer than you hoped.


All in all, in a country so far away from this, they're lucky in a sense. Lucky to not have to worry about the impression they might set on someone by going to school, because they are all the same in a way. They all want to go to school, get education, and one-day, hopefully, they will move on and do something greater with their lives. It's the strive that they have that I really wish more people here could grasp.

Journal #4

Free write
"My hero"

In my life, I've heard and seen many comic displays and movies portraying what a hero is in their eyes. A disgustingly strong person, good-looking, smart.. a superman to say the least. In my eyes though, a hero is nothing more than someone who inspires you and has true strength. Throughout my life, I've found someone who truly deserves the title of a hero. My grandmother. She has pushed through any situation that has ever been thrown her way, with a smile on her face, knowing that regardless of what happens, it happens for the best. My grandmother, Nancy, has always been a strong inspiration on my life because of that and she has my up most respect.


About two years ago, my grandmother started on an oxygen tank, due to her bad breathing caused from blood pressure problems, smoking and asthma. She knew she would have to quit, and hasn't touched a cigarrette since she was admitted to the hopsital after losing her breath and being placed on oxygen. They perscribed her with a ridiculous amount on prescriptions and thought that would solve it all, until a few months later, my grandma was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was a secret that she kept from my family for a few weeks, until finally my grandfather told her she had to tell us so we could provide her with as much support and help and she needed.


After a list of tests, my grandmother was then told she would start chemotherapy, followed by surgery and then hormones. The doctors then placed a tube to permanently stay in her arm until all of the treatments were done. She was no longer aloud to swim, she had to eat certain things, if she could even stomach food and she could no longer walk up a set of stairs, leaving her to buy a new bed to place on the bottom floor to make it possible for her to sleep. Chemotherapy then started, which is when her hair began to fall out, causing her to shave her head and after six months of chemo, she went for surgery. The surgeon removed her right breast and she came through. Everything seemed like it was going to get better from that point.


That's when I realized, you really can jynx yourself. A couple of weeks after the surgery, my grandmother was admitted to the hospital again because her blood pressure was bad, her breathing cut out and her kidneys had failed. It was a nervewracking week for us, but she thankfully pulled through. She came out with a smile and had so much strength. She inspired me more at that point, than she ever has in my life, just knowing that she pulled through one of the hardest situations that a person could go through. I was so proud of her, and wished that one day, I could have as much strength as her. My grandmother gave me someone to look up, an idol.


My grandmother is sixty-five, and has more strength than anyone I know. She has always pushed me to strive in my life because she doesn't want me to have a hard life. High school was something my grandmother couldn't experience, due to having my mom when she was only 17. She had a rough time raising her, and her son on her own and then found who I now call my grandfather. She made it through absaloutely every situation thrown at her, mainly because she wanted to give everyone around her a good life and all the love that they deserved. Love was always something she said she thought the world needed more of and she really had a good start at spreading it.


Growing up with her showed me how to give and gain respect, support, love and she taught me that no matter how hard something might get, you can pull through. I am so proud to call her my grandmother, my idol and my hero. She is my greatest inspiration and I couldn't thank her or love her more.

Journal #3

"The Pen is Mightier than the Sword"

Personally, I am very interested in social topics. Stories about the way that us, as people, act in society and how we are socially influenced by the people around us are generally what I like. I think that topics on our behaviour in a real-life situation is really neat. Hearing a story about something that I can relate to or when I know I’ve witnessed something like that happen to someone I know, it really helps me understand the story on another, better level. Stories written about our behaviour helps us see what we need to change and what we could possibly do to turn those things around. I think that we really need to stop letting people influence us in a lot of the negative ways that we let them. There are a lot of stories you hear about kids that let their friends control their actions, and I can really relate to that. Although, most people do realize that at some point it is time to change and get back on track, not everybody does. Peers can be a very negative influence. People these days are mainly about fitting in and trying to be the most “loved” and the most “popular.” What I finally came to realize was that just because you do what someone else is making you do, it doesn’t make you either of those.


One thing that these stories can influence on us is to be our own person. The stories can show you that it might be one of the best times you had skipping out on class or rebelling against your parents, but in the end, there’s always a consequence. What goes around really does come around, and these stories can help display that. Good things don’t come to bad actions and in the end, you live and you learn, but it’s all about taking what you’ve learned and using it to your advantage. To hear a story about somebody who was never successful because they skipped classes, a story about somebody who never knew what a good relationship was because they never tried to have one with their parents, or a story about never achieving what you know you should be can really be a good wake-up call.


I was always one to do good in school, until I let my peers get the best of me. I had a lot of personal issues going on and I thought that maybe if I fit in with my friends and became the most popular out of us, than it would help me forget about my reality. I would probably still be stuck in that if it wasn’t for the help of people who saw me slipping and if I never chose to read "A Million Little Pieces." When I read that story, all I began to think about was choices. It made me realize that this one man’s choice to do a drug one day, turned into a spiral of more and more drugs. Soon, he had been out of control. He changed his life around and realized that he needed to do better. I felt a lot of relation to that, not only because my life was spinning out of control, but because I was getting involved in a lot of things that someone, especially at my age, shouldn’t even think twice about doing. It was a good awakening and for me, it proved that stories really can change a person’s outlook on something.

Journal #2

"Your legacy"

When I leave Earth, or the “third rock from the sun,” so to speak, I hope to leave positive memories and influences on those that matter most. Family and close friends are extremely important to me and they are the only people I feel need to reflect on positive things about me once I’m gone. Even though I most likely won’t be one to have the world know my name for doing something great, I’ll still have the achievement of making the close people in my life smile when they think about me. I’d rather leave knowing that they will find comfort in looking back on those times we shared than know that the world recognizes my name. To me, it’s more important to satisfy and create happiness for closer people in my life.


I’ve never been the best daughter, sister, friend or girlfriend, but I’ve tried my best, which is all a person can really ever do. I’ve had fights with every close person in my life, but I look at it as a positive outcome. Those fights have brought us closer. We’ve learned each other’s differences and got through hard times, which made me realize that there’s nothing better than knowing that through a rough time, you’ll still have those people to rely on. It makes me feel obligated to provide them with the same feeling of reliance, to know that I will always be there when they need me, through thick and thin. Even when I’m gone, I want them to remember that I’ll still be there, looking over them, protecting them and guiding them towards the right decisions in their life and helping them through their hardest times, like they did for me.


I personally am one to highly believe in good karma. If I live my life as a good person and to my best ability, it will leave behind the most positive things about me to remember. Everyone in my life that is close, deserves the best and I wouldn’t want to be the one to cause a sorrowful feeling for them. Leaving behind something like a great painting or a theory that changed the way the world thinks would be an amazing accomplishment, but definitely not the most important. I love my family and friends and as long as I know that when they stand up to talk about me, it will be all positives, that will be fantastic with me. I never want to hurt anyone, in such a way that they will hate the memory of me. I want to be remembered for all the good, as I will remember everyone that has done good for me in my life.

Journal #1

"Write what you know"

To me, writing is all about using your imagination and the awarness of what you know. The more that you expand your thoughts, the more freedom it gives the reader to explore what you're saying. I love editing stories that others have written. It gives me the challenge of making sure everything sounds right and is gramatically correct. My ultimate favourite genre is always going to be romance novels. Topics that I will have to avoid in writing would have to be poetry. I've never been able to write any good poetry and I don't rhyme that well. I could, overall, write more effectively if I began to research where these authors learned how to write from, and apply myself to learn like they did. I would love to talk to a writer and ask what influences them to write and helps them create really good stories.

Personally, I don't think I know enough yet to really "write what I know," but I can write my experiences in life so far and the lessons that they've taught me. Too me, experiencing something is more than knowing about something. Facts are useless unless you can put your pen to paper, so-to-say. Going through a situation or putting yourself in the position to see something first-hand, gives you more knowledge. Hearing about somebody else having a hard time and over-coming it in one way, could be worthless to you, mainly because everybody is different. We all get through things differently, in such ways that some people stick to themselves to push through while others need to reach out for as much help as they can possibly get. In my eyes, I think the one way we can reach out to each other though, is through writing. Knowing that someone else has had a similar experience, regardless of how different your lifestyles are, helps you face the realization that things really will be okay.


When things get tough, and sometimes, nobody is around to pick you back up, you get down on yourself and feel helpless, that's when you can pick up an inspiring novel and read about how people do get through, alone or with others. You start reading and in the beginning, you can see the relation that you have to the character. Once the book is done, it hits you... you are going to be strong, independent, and get through whatever it is that could be happening. It's relieving to know that this author really does understand what you're going through. For me, in my life, a novel is what helped me. I didn't know much, but I thought I knew it all. I didn't need school, I didn't need a job, and I felt that love was worthless, because they all ended up leaving in the end anyways. That was until I started reading "A Walk To Remember - Nicholas Sparks." It was a touching story about a boy who didn't care about anything, besides his popularity and a girl who was the complete opposite. They fell in-love and, even though in the end she dies of cancer, they're love is still there. That story finally made me know that life is what you make it. Life isn't all about knowing what's going to happen next, it's about your past and where it got you today, and how it will unfold your future. Knowing, is simply a figure of experience and being able to relate to someone, gives you a great, liberating feeling.

I would never write about something I have never experienced, in some sense. If I was there to help a friend while they went through it, I would still have a sense of the feeling, but if I had no idea what it would feel like to lose my mother, for example, I wouldn't touch on it. I wouldn't be able to express the feeling in the right way, mainly because I wouldn't want to feel that feeling, unless I really had to. Truth, to me, is a very great key to writing. If I find honesty in somebody's writing, I'll most-likely love it instantly. Trying to express a feeling you've never felt is definitely my limitation in writing. Overall though, it's all about who's writing. Some people could fake a feeling and make it sound so good with their level of writing, but for me personally, I'll stick to the personal experiences.