Teenage years
Pinball Wizardry? Not Quite
In the town where I live, there is a patch of grass where there once stood a wine bar that mysteriously caught fire one night, and burned down. When I was a child, that building had been a furniture showroom, but by the time I entered my teens it had transformed into a brightly-lit amusement arcade called The Leisure Centre — and I became an eager habitué.
By Joe Young3 years ago in Confessions
The Internet Just Replaced A Lot Of Things, Like Cookbooks
I was browsing through the recipe book section at Chapters when a budget-friendly cookbook caught my eye. It pleased my senses with its colourful cover, smooth and well-illustrated pages, vast content, and the “new book” smell that came from the inside.
By Shalin Thomas3 years ago in Confessions
Small Time Charlies
When I reached my teens, and I began to live a more independent life, the need for money would crop up more often than it had in my pre-teen days. While I could usually turn to my parents for everyday expenses, such as youth club subscriptions or money for the cinema, the odd cash injection was sometimes called for, particularly when I took up smoking.
By Joe Young3 years ago in Confessions
Modern Day Mix Tape 2
For me, I travel through time and space through music. Music is my time travelling companion. The force that opens the portal. It is and always has been music. I am able to be moved from here to there most easily through what I hear. Music is how I travel through time. Music is my first love and my last love. I have had many loves in between where it started and where it will end, but it always has been and always will be music for me. My one true. That and Jesus, which goes without saying but I should say it. Considering Jesus loves music. "Don't be a prude- not when it comes to music" is something I think I have heard him say....
By Jamie LeFebvre 3 years ago in Confessions
My Dreams
"You'll never be content, he said. In my mind I thought he was telling me that I did not have the ability to improve my life, so I should just accept my life the way it was now. This is the United States I thought, as long as you can walk and think there are opportunities to improve one's life. I didn't know how to rebut, he was still talking, as usual, my opinion really didn't matter. If we were not in agreement it was always my fault. There was obviously something I did not understand. But what I understood was that this relationship would never go further than friendship. Finally. the rambling stopped, and we sat and listened to the band. I was so busy watching the time that I could barely listen. After an hour had passed I left. I was so eager to get out that I had to force myself not to run from the music hall.
By Antoinette L Brey3 years ago in Confessions
being pregnant as a teen saved my life . Top Story - September 2022.
To say my childhood was challenging would be an understatement. I lived most of it being told that I was a mistake. That, single-handedly, I ruined the life of the person responsible for my birth by simply existing in this world that they brought me in to by no choice of my own. I wasn't just told, sometimes I was hurt. Transparently, the bruises were just icing on the cake that was all of the emotional damage I carried through the rest of time. The bruises didn't hurt nearly as much as everything else.
By EMandKids | AmazingAbigailGrace3 years ago in Confessions
The Hidden Journey
The life of an empath is a lonely journey. Picking up on everyone and everything is exhausting! So much so you may view yourself as the victim, or think you are depressed, anxious or an introvert. If you identify with any of these it does not necessarily mean you are an empath.
By Liza Spiridon3 years ago in Confessions
When Teachers Attacked
I once watched the 1970 film Kes with my (then) girlfriend, who was three decades my junior. She was aghast at how much bullying went on in the film, not between pupils, but from staff. I considered it a fairly accurate representation of school life in the 1970s.
By Joe Young3 years ago in Confessions
Riding the Coal Hoppers as a Teen
When I was in my early teens, I sometimes kick about with friends who lived on a neigbouring estate. One of the attractions there was a railway line that ran along the bottom of several back gardens. Diesel engines on this line hauled hoppers, which we called trucks, full of coal from the nearby Bates’ colliery, now long since closed and demolished. With that blindness to danger that many teenagers suffer from, we used to ride on those hoppers for kicks.
By Joe Young3 years ago in Confessions
Jumping Off the High Dive Board. Top Story - September 2022.
I’ve never been a great swimmer. I can manage and all, but I never went in for having distance badges sewn onto my trunks, or diving board showboating. As a teenager, I enjoyed frolicking in the shallows, eyeing up girls, and performing illicit bombs when the pool attendant wasn’t looking.
By Joe Young3 years ago in Confessions
