I want to tell you a story about mistakes - about growing up, screwing up and ending up unhappy, and it'd have tons of preachy tear-jerker scenes, endless regret and squalor, and the most bittersweet, contrived ending you've ever had the disservice of hearing. It'd have drugs, and depression, and deceit by the truckload, and every sentence would leave you angry, shocked or moved. The main character could be a kid my age, my height, my weight, who would always make the wrong decisions, just keep right on digging herself in deeper until her world collapsed on her and she was down for the count. And walking away from the story, you wouldn't know whether to love her or hate her, but you couldn't help but be affected, feel at least some small amount of empathy for the poor kid. And maybe, with a little bit of luck, it'd leave you a different person than it found you.…
