Shattered Silence

The Estate of Love (Photo Credit belongs to Photographer: Rachel Barnitz)  We have cheapened the estate of love.   We have turned it into a thing to obtain, rather than a state to be.   We have exchanged its true meaning of purpose, value, and life, for that of one night stands, unintentional flirting, and hearts being led along on a string. (Photo Credit belongs to Photographer: Rachel Barnitz) Through tear stained eyes I see girls giving up who they are just to make a guy like them.   Through the fake teeth smiles of filters and camera angles on Instagram photos, we try to portray a “presentable” image of ourselves where guys can scroll as they please, and girls can plunge deeper into self-denial.   We begin to teach ourselves that this state of being is normal, and in fact detrimental if we ever expect to fulfill the love we crave. But you see, I think that this is where we as a society have gotten this concept of love entirely wrong. ...

Heartbreak  ("It was better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved at all": Photo Credits belong to Photographer: Rachel Barnitz) Temporarily bruised, not permanently shot they tell me.  It will only hurt for a little while.  But if that is the truth, then why do I feel like I am caving inside? Like a wall has been torn down and I will surely die of cardiac arrest at any moment.  That I simply won’t make it out alive because this pain that is deep inside me will fester out into my being.  For loving you was like watching a grenade blow up, but being too enthralled to move out of the way.  Too encompassed by the good looks of deception and witty charm given, to recognize and realize the mask you portrayed.  But that’s the thing about heartbreak, and the parts they don’t tell you.  That when you love, you risk, and when you risk, you fall, and when you fall, you break, and when you break you shatter. Yet I still sup...