Young doesn't mean happy.

In some situations one word can be the difference between life and death. A simple "yes" or "no" would be the difference between carrying on with your life and getting the help you need. A lot of teenagers answer "yes, I'm fine" even though they aren't. I know so many young people who have severe depression that gets ignored, simply because they're young. It should be a crime to ignore a person's depression, just because they're young. Age doesn't make depression any more or less intense, and ignoring it should be punishable by law. This was the case for a girl I knew. Her parents assumed that she was young and nothing was wrong, simply because she didn't want to tell them. Why didn't they take action? I tried to help as much as I could, why didn't they? Why, even if she did say "yes, I'm fine", her parents never paid attention to the long sleeves in the middle of summer, or the tear soaked pillows? Why did they ignore the screams echoing from her bedroom, the sobs from behind the shower curtain? Well, it was probably because she was young, and young people don't get depression, young people don't kill themselves, right?

R.I.P

"Because I love you"

I had a friend who was in a great relationship, or so she thought. They would go out to the movies, make dinner together and sometimes he would even buy her a present "just because". She was still a virgin, he was not. One day he decided that it was her turn to lose her virginity and when she said no, he hit her. This became a habit. She was late for a date, he hit her. She failed a test, he hit her. She went out with her girlfriends without him knowing, he hit her. Thankfully she told me what had been happening a few months after it started and we decided that it would be best for her to leave him. She didn't want to do it in person because she feared for her safety around  him, especially when she made him angry. I handed her the phone and she dialed his number. The second she told him it was over he demanded to know where she was, she refused to tell him and asked why he wanted to know. He replied "because I love you". She told him that she was sorry and that this couldn't keep happening and hung up. I'm relieved that she got out of it before it got worse, but I know that there are a lot of people who don't. I don't understand how you could physically or emotionally harm someone, on purpose, that you claim to love. I wish she had reported him, I would if it was my place to do so. An abusive relationship isn't much of a relationship at all.

Nothing should get in the way, not age, race or even sex.

     One thing I cannot stand is homophobia. I know that being gay goes against religion, but if religious people can accept homosexuals why can't everyone else? I think it's great that people are able to come out and tell their friends and family that they're gay without being harmed for it. I've seen so many kids get bullied and picked on and pushed around to the point that they commit suicide. This all happens because other people just don't seem to understand that love is love, it doesn't have an age, race or sex. People should not have to hide who they love because of other people's fears and lack of understanding. This is the 21st century, we're in the middle of a revolution. Go with it or get left behind.


This picture was taken of my cousin, Mitchell, marrying the man of his dreams, Adam, in Toronto last year.

"Hey you, make me a sammich!"

     A few days ago when I was out with friends a group of boys passing us told us to make them a ‘sammich’, also known as a sandwich. This has been a joke surrounding the internet lately, stating that women are only good for cleaning, sex and sandwiches. I’m not much of a feminist, but to me this is ridiculous. It’s just plain stupid to insinuate that women are only good for those three things when I can almost guarantee that there is a woman in every one of those boy’s lives that has changed them or impacted them in some way, other than making a great sandwich. Would it make sense for us women to yell out “Hey you, go build me a house”? I didn’t think so. So why is it ok for us to be told to do something, just because of our sex? It’s not, and I hope these stupid remarks stop soon.