as you grow older, reality begins to set in. the worst crime is no longer stealing someones crayon. and the most pain you have ever experienced is more than just scraping your knee. you begin to to realize how powerful words really are, but how they are no longer the only sign people listen to. less and less people are there to catch you, and more and more are waiting for you to fall. you start understanding people more, although it seems they understand you less. you gain endless knowledge about the world, yet you lose endless knowledge about who you are as a person. you give everyone the option to change, yet no one dares to dip their toes into unexplored waters. no matter how many times we say man is good, no one thinks about what good they've done that day. as reality sets in, it decides to give you random slaps in the face we call breakdowns. we no longer want to marry strangers, but a broken heart can take you down even harder than you ever thought possible. tears become a sign of weakness, which is stupid considering it has been a sign that we are alive since the beginning of time. you realize that you can't trust anyone, even though the world leaves you to find that out for yourself. at the end of it all is my point: love hurts. boys lie. friends cry. people die. parents yell, you always try. you are never good enough and you don't know why.