Change.

I was someone who didn't care. Selfish.
I remember locking myself in my room-- hiding from the world
I heard my sister sobbing. Slamming her bedroom door.
I saw my mother crying, her face slick with tears.
I worried about the fate of my family
I thought I would end up just the same as the rest of them-- broken.

But I want change.

I am-- in general-- happy with my life
I think the world needs to change.
I need to be that change.
I try to help others and be selfless
I feel grateful.
I forgive my parents... My whole entire family.

Now I can change.

I will be someone that people look up to-- considered a hero.
I choose to smile at someone on the street. To commit a random act of kindness.
I dream that some day the world will change.
I predict that it will stay the same.
I know that I will be someone who people can talk about in a good way. Someone who their children look up to and I become a household name for something good.

I will change.

"Give a wink, give a kiss. Give a little happiness"

Love  is a broad term

Most people think of a couple on the beach, holding one another tight, saying "I love you"

But to me, Love is something entirely different.

Love is a girl holding back from smacking her sister square in the jaw

Even though she deliberately took the Barbie doll she clearly wanted.

It's like a man saying "Yes, ma'am" To his wife's mother

Even though he wants more than anything to tell her to "Shut up already!"

And it is a young woman not saying "I hate you" to her best friend

Despite the fact that she's dating her ex boyfriend

Love is tolerance.

Love is two doves, flying across the sky after being released at a wedding.

Soaring through the air without a care in the world.

It's a man laying down his gun

Even though he believes in what he's fighting for.

Love is a bearded hippie, smiling and telling his friend to "Chillax, brah"

Hoping that his attempts will at least brighten the man's day

Love is the waves crashing on the shore

Even though sometimes people wish they would stop.

Love are the ivory keys of a piano being pressed and making beautiful music

Listening to the music in your heart and being able to visualize it in your mind

Love is reading by the warm fire
Even though you have things to do, all you want to do is live this moment forever.

Love is like someone meditating, reaching inner peace

Love is peacefulness.

It's you hugging your brand new puppy dog

Even though he just chewed up your new Jimmy Choos.

It's a baby crying after being born and seeing light for the first time

His mother just met him, yet she already loves him so.

And it's your friend walking into school wearing the ugliest sweater you've ever seen in your life.

Although you want to slap her for it, you still love her.

It's a mother and father who've just been married

And although they probably sometimes want to kill eachother, they don't.

You see, love is like a kiss at midnight

Though you are tired, you want to stay up and kiss her forever.

Love is a couple saying I do

Though they don't know what they're getting  themselves into, they're excited and willing to try anything as long as they're together.

Love is unconditional.

It's a wink from a girl you've just started dating

That makes your heart flutter

And it's children playing and laughing in the sun

Not knowing they have to grow up some day.

Love is like a grin from a stranger

That makes your whole day that much better

And it's a boy and a girl, lying on the couch, tickling each other

Despite her pleas for him to stop, she really doesn't want him to.

Love is sheer happiness.

Shhh.

My feet slip as I miss the stairs due to the darkness of the room we are in. People are chatting, which irks me slightly, but I let it go. We find our way to the back of the dimly lit theater, and sit down. After about twelve pieces of popcorn, and a preview or two for your typical G-Rated movie where the moral is "friendship", the lights finally go off.

The only source of light now in the theater is from the teenage girl in front of me's cell phone. I can already tell that she's going to be an issue.

The dark screen turns into glowing green text that says "Paranormal Activity 3." About fifteen minutes in, I know already we're going to have a problem. I can already tell that the girl, whom I found out is named Kayla from her very loud friend sitting next to her, is going to be the problem.

The main character walks up to another girl, video camera in hand. The screen switches to footage from the dinky camera that the main character is using. "Happy birthday, sis!" The main character says in a sing-songy voice. 

And in comes Kayla. "Wait, I don't get it. Are they sisters?"

I have to resist the urge to face-palm.

"I don't know." her friend states loudly, smacking her gum. In my head I scream, "WILL YOU PLEASE SHUT UP? YES THEY ARE SISTERS. THAT IS EXACTLY WHY SHE CALLED HER SIS. SIS!" But all I do is rub my temples to attempt to soothe the headache beginning to stir inside of me. 

Kayla and her friend are quiet for about an hour, which is a relief. But then the worst part comes in when the main character is being posessed. Of course, Kayla can't resist the urge to make another dumb comment. 

"I don't get it. What's going on?"

"She's being posessed." Her friend states back.

"What's that mean?" The smack of her gum makes me clench my fists. 

"It means that the ghost is possessing her."

"I know but what does that mean." It's like the two don't have a volume button. 

I can't hold it in any longer. I blow up. "Girls," I lean forward in my seat so that they can see me if they look up. "Do you not understand that you're in a movie? Did you not know when you woke up this morning and decided to see a movie that you were coming to watch a movie, at the movie theater, where there would be other people trying to listen and actually watch the movie?" Kayla stares at me. "Now, would you please, kindly, shut up."

My friend stares at me in awe and I breathe out. I'd been waiting to do that my entire life.