AO Teens

                 Do you ever just have a night when all you can do is cry? You get home or escape to your room and all you can do it cry. Well, I know that I do. I used to be a very emotional person, but now things are quite different. I do cry but usual when I cry its because so many things have built up that I just can’t hold the tears in. I know that some people probably think that crying is for the weak, but its not. I recently learned that there are three different kinds of tears. Basal tears, reflex tears, and emotional tears. Basal tears are always in your eyes to protected them. Reflex tears are created whenever your eyes become irritated, and they help remove whatever is irritating the eyes. Emotional tears are the tears you shed whenever you feel extreme emotions, sadness, happiness, disappointment, excitement, etc. The thing that gets me about emotional tears is that they contain two proteins and hormones that other tears don’t. ...

                I feel that most of us take friendship for granted. We just assume that everyone has friends, and our lives are nice when we’re with friends. Have you ever stopped to appreciate your friends and how much they do for you? Let me tell you a story.                 May 3 rd, 2021, my best friend and her family moved to Wyoming. Ever since she had told me they were moving back in January I started to realize that I had never shown her how much she meant to me. So, I immediately got to work, I got together with some of her friends and made her a journal where all of us showed her how much she meant to us.   When she moved all I could think about was how I had never told her how amazing she was until she was taken away. It really made me realize how much I had taken her, and my other friends, for granted. Then not too lon...

 The Puzzle of Life By Hannah R. You know that moment when a piece of a puzzle that looks right, that you're certain is right, just won't fit where you want it to? You know that frustration? That anger that comes out? The throwing of the piece down, or that exasperated sigh of despair as you sit despondently back to stare at the unfinished puzzle? Remember how we need to stop, sit back, take a breather, and then come back to it with a renewed vigour and a fresh mind?  Maybe life is like that. Maybe those moments in life where everything seems to go wrong, or you keep trying to do what seems like the right thing is or you're certain is the right thing and it never works out are like those puzzle pieces that just don't quite fit. Maybe those moments of anger at something that just doesn't work out or that frustration at your calender not lining up so you can do everything you want to do is like that. Maybe, just maybe, mental health is like that. Maybe we're all t...

  His Name is Jesus By H. R. Remminga A man of integrity He provides us with an example Of what we should do In all circumstances of life We all know His name Some reject him as a fairy tale Others take Him to heart And make Him their savior His name is Jesus And to the world I will whisper You may reject Him But I claim Him You may hate Him But I love Him He took the burdens of the world On His young and healthy shoulders  He let our sins weigh on Him Crushing the breath from Him Accused of hypocrisy  By hypocrites themselves He loved them still As they screamed for blood His name is Jesus And to the world I will whisper You may reject Him But I claim Him You may hate Him But I love Him His name is Jesus And to the world I will whisper You may reject Him But I claim Him You may hate Him But I love Him Yeah, you may hate Him But I love Him

  Can No One Redeem Me? by H. R. Remminga My life should be Hell. By all accounts, I should be condemned and judged, Thrown down into that fire pit with the serpent And left to live in burning agony for eternity. I should be looked at with contempt. The sight of me should fill you with disgust And make you turn your face from me. I’m filthy. Covered in rags of deceit, malice, and selfishness. I stink of envy, greed, and dishonesty. My eyes shine bright with pride and haughtiness. I deserve to die for what I have done. I deserve to be beaten, stoned, ridiculed. I deserve to be left  In the filthiest, deepest, darkest corner Of the filthiest, deepest, darkest cell In the filthiest, deepest, darkest prison In the filthiest, deepest, darkest location. This is what I deserve for my pride, My envy, my hate. For my deceit and self-centeredness. Especially for having hurt,  Ruthlessly torn apart,  And cut down people around me. Intentionally done with my cruel, Cold, calcula...

  Pray When everything frustrates you. Pray. When you feel so broken that you can't get up again. Pray. When nothing seems to go right for you. Pray. When life becomes so hard that you wish it would just end. Pray. If you've ever just wanted to die and be with Jesus. Pray. If you just want to scream... Pray.