Don't expect an apology for this one.

Once upon a time, a critic went to see a play. He wrote an article that called this particular play "absolute rubbish." He said that the man who wrote this play was "the least talented author" of their time. The play this critic saw was "A Midsummer Night's Dream." The "least talented author" of their time, according to this particular critic, was William Shakespeare. It is extremely rare to find a person who does not know who William Shakespeare is. In fact, almost everybody can name at least one of his works. However, the name of this critic has been lost in history. He did not make a difference. In the world of literature, his words meant absolutely nothing. What if Shakespeare had taken this critic seriously? What if he had stopped writing simply because someone else decided that he had no talent?

William Shakespeare certainly isn't the only author who has received harsh criticism. In fact, every piece of literature that I have studied has been bashed by someone at some point. Benjamin Franklin said, "Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain, and most fools do."

William Wordsworth said, "Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart." Today, this blog is my paper, and I am going to fill it. I am going to say everything that I would normally hold back. Reading my words is your choice, and if you become offended, it is because you made the wrong choice. The only thing I have chosen to do is write it, and I will never be wrong for writing anything that I honestly feel. What is the point of having such an exciting freedom if I am too afraid to enjoy it?

Everything doesn't have to make sense. There are some people that I just do not like. I may not ever like these people, and it makes no difference to me if they understand why I feel this way. I do not have to apologize for feeling the way that I do about anything. Why should I have to hide the fact that I absolutely cannot stand someone? I really do not know any person that has liked every person he or she met. It just does not happen. I cannot pretend to like someone who constantly judges all kinds of people, but tells others to think about what Jesus would think if He were beside them. I have studied The Bible extensively. I took The Bible as Literature as a college course, and I had the pleasure of listening to a very wise man talk about The Bible for 21 years. I pulled out my bible tonight to search for this particular verse.

"Do not judge lest you be judged. "For in the way that you judge you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. "And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? "Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." (Matthew 7:1-5)

My friends are my backbone. I do not mistreat them. I keep their secrets. We are all very open to each other about EVERYTHING. We do not get embarrassed around each other, no matter what the situation is. On a serious note, we've all screwed up. Some of us are really bad a lot of things, honestly. We say stupid things, do stupid things, and make stupid decisions sometimes. We also happen to love the fact that we seem to have the worst luck imaginable. We sit around and tell stories of these really stupid, bad, awkward, or strange things, and we just laugh at it. We laugh at ourselves, we laugh at each other, and we laugh at other people. It's true. We laugh so hard that our sides ache. Most of us have been friends for many years, and since we're all young, that is a pretty fantastic thing to be able to say. The reason we have all remained so close is because we treat each other with respect. We have shared many adventures. If you have ever heard of any of our vacations, you know that nothing ever goes as planned. In fact, we really stopped planning anything a long time ago. When we're all together, I sometimes feel like we went back in time. We were just a group of kids in a boring town, raising hell, getting in trouble, breaking the rules, and talking about what life would be like when we got older. Right in the middle of this thought, someone will say something really profound, and I think, "Who is this grownup?" Then, it hits me. We've grown up. We've come so far. We've been through so much. We're more than just adventure, bad luck, and laughter. We are proof that true friendship can last forever.

I will NEVER be too old to take risks. We only get ONE life. Why miss out on something because of fear? I cannot begin to try and count how many times I've heard people say that their biggest fear is FAILURE. There is so much evil in the world, but people are most scared of failing? If failure was my biggest fear, I would have scared myself to death a long time ago. I've probably failed more times than I have succeeded. Actually, go ahead and take "probably" out of that sentence. It's a fact. It is not important, though. All that matters to me is that I did not fail every single time. I have experienced much success in my life. To be honest, I had just as much fun failing as I did succeeding. It is all part of my story. It all happened for a reason. Some of my risks came with some pretty terrible consequences, but it was still worth it. The same people who judge everybody for screwing up are the same people who missed out on great experiences because they were afraid. Maybe you can call me a failure, but you certainly cannot call me a coward.

I AM A PROUD SUPPORTER OF THE HOMOSEXUAL COMMUNITY. I'm not gay, but some of the people that I love the most are gay. Marriage is about love, not gender. The love between a gay couple is just as wonderful as the love between a heterosexual couple. I hope that my generation changes the laws regarding gay marriage. There are people in our world who honestly believe that love is a choice, and because these people happen to be heterosexual, they can get married. At the same time, there are people who wish that they could change who they love so they could be what society tells them they "should" be. But, they cannot control who they love, no matter how hard they may try. When these people fall in love, it is unstoppable. This kind of love happens so quickly that people rarely see it coming. It makes absolutely no sense. So, we try to deny it, fight it, or ignore it. This kind of love always prevails over logic, though. This kind of love is powerful. Sometimes, the people who fall into love this way happen to be homosexual. However, they cannot get married. Their love is not recognized as valid. Not everybody deserves to find true love, honestly. We all need love, but I do not believe that everybody deserves it. HOWEVER, ALL TRUE LOVE IS VALID!!!!!

I know of the evils of our world. How did we get to this point? Where did this cruelty come from? When did this hatred become so strong? Did it find us? Or, did we seek it without ever realizing it? People fall in love, get married, and have babies. One day, parents look at their children and realize that they're grown up. So, they send them out into the world. It is like sending soldiers off to war. They all know that there is evil everywhere, and all parents wonder if this evil will find the hearts of their children. Will the children win the battle against evil? Will the soldiers make it home from the war? We hope that they all have a safe return, but in the back of our minds, we know that some will be lost along the way. We all fight battles of our own. Some people are evil, fighting against good. Some people tell lies just to make it through the day, while others make the choice to face the truth. There are good men, struggling to swim in a sea of temptation. Some people choose to not fight at all, and they spend their entire lives running away. Some people are fighting to find their way home. There are all kinds of people in this world. There are all kinds of evil. What I've noticed is that there are people who talk about how wise, good, and decent they are, and then there are people who never even think to say these things about themselves. When someone really is wise, good, and decent, people figure it out without having to be told. The devil mixes lies with the truth, and that's why I fear anyone who tries too hard to convince everyone of their high morals. That is just how I feel.

Seriously, if you get upset and offended easily, I suggest you buy a BIG box of tissues, because life is tough. Nobody is going to put your feelings first if they do not like you, and there will always be people who don't like you. This will be especially true if you think that other people should show you respect that you have never shown them.

Now, I'm going to go back to what I have always done on this blog. I have always written from the heart. If you're that concerned with the contents of my heart, then do not come back here again. It's simple.

:)