In “Karen’s” “50 Reasons to Live” in Teen Ink’s September 2011 issue, she wrote about her struggle as a teenage girl through depression and suicidal thoughts. She tried to write her suicide note, but all she wrote were reasons she wanted to stay alive. Because of this, she had enough bravery to talk to someone and get the help she so desperately needed. I can relate thoroughly to this girl’s feelings. Depression has plagued me on and off for at least five years now, and I’ve felt and thought all the emotions and thoughts this poor, lost soul of a girl did. However, the guidance counselor never threw me out of his or her office, and I don’t live on an army base in Germany. Instead, I get an intrusive therapist and live just outside Defiance, near no one I know or like. She was a clown, hiding her emotions behind jokes and fake smiles, while through the years it’s been impossible for me to keep my pain inside, so it’s not unusual to be sassed by me when I feel sad. After all, it’s so much easier for me to cover up my sadness, loneliness, or pain by sassing, becoming furious, or just staying quiet, as opening my mouth may cause hurt in one’s feelings or releasing a river of emotions to pour off the tip of my tongue and fall awkwardly into the space between others. I am glad she’s found her happier place in life through love and compassion with the help of loving advisors and friends. Furthermore, I can only hope to find the same kind of meaning and purpose in my own life.