She goes to school every day, does her work, stays involved. She's always smiling, cheering people up, and sharing her spirit. She's always helping others, there to depend on, and never says no. She's the perfect, well-rounded, successful, hard-working straight-A student that everyone wants to be. She has an amazing life.

No. That's not the truth. She may seem like everything's going right in her life and she's extremely happy, but her life is far from perfect, and she's dealing with immense pain and struggle

She goes to school to escape her mother's rage, her sister's lack of respect, all of the negativity of her family. The depression that drags her down. She runs from the sadness, tries not to let it catch her. She does all she can to keep herself out of the house.

Her grades are nearly perfect, but to her they aren't good enough. She can never be good enough for anyone to love her, even herself. So she stresses and pushes herself harder and harder. She must be better.

But she feels alone. No one shows her what love is, the power of hope. She is filled to the brim with darkness, without light to clear her mind and heart. She doesn't know who she is, who she can be, what to live for.

She's tried to escape before. She starved her body for years to try to become invisible. She found company in the voice that taught her to get skinny. Her relationship with that voice was taken away from her. She sliced her skin to create company in her scars. Her blades were confiscated.

She's still alone, misunderstood, alienated with every word they say.

She can't find help, make friends, get close to people; she's too scared to be hurt, to have people condescend her, to be criticized and torn down, to be rejected. She doesn't know how to give and recieve love and compliments; she doesn't even know how to love and respect and accept herself. She lives in solitude.

But she can't let them see her for who she is. She is just sad and weak. They'll never think she's good enough if they see just how much of a wreck she truly is.