AS each day passes more and more people say "Laura you look tired, are you okay?" Never do I want to hear those words again. At the mere sound of them I feel like screaming. Of course I'm tired, everyone knows I don't sleep. I've thought about my past and my future a lot lately. Though things in my past were unpleasant and jaded, I know that they will make me stronger and wiser in the long run. I suppose that the memories and lack of sleep and everything that goes with that is the price that I will unfortunately have to pay, oh well. I know that when I work with youth my past will help me understand their hurt, joy, fear, loss, love, pain, struggles and frustration. I suppose that everything has a purpose and plan but sometimes I wish it didn't. I wish that I could gain wisdom without experience and that I could erase parts of my past without erasing what I learned. However, I would never want to erase the good things in life for they are the silver lining on grey clouds.