I will not look away this time
Take all these cuts, and make them shine
And all this pain I've held inside
So I can find my way home again
I will not look away this time
Take all these cuts, and make them shine
Don't want to be perfect, just alright...

Look Away, Welcome to the Masquerade, Thousand Foot Krutch

In case you were wondering, this is not how I am feeling right now, but I have felt this way many years ago. The reason for this picture is an attempt to relate to how others feel. Although one would argue that everything included in this picture is what I looked like, it's not. All that is represented in this picture is a window of my soul at the time. I felt alone. I felt like cutting myself. I had even attempted suicide, but no one would care. Personally, I know that there is a number of people in this world who have felt this way at one point in their life; I did. As Trevor McNevan, the lead singer of Thousand Foot Krutch, says about his album, "The inspiration behind the album comes from people hiding things in their life," McNevan has stated, "Masquerading through life, hiding their frustrations."

His song Bring Me To Life (also featured on Welcome to the Masquerade) can also be reference to this picture:

Open your mind dont let it slip,
And take you on a midnight ride that's wicked
Everyone around here comes in feeling
Fed up with the way their wounds are healin'
Take me to a place where doors are open
A lovely little place where no one's broken
Welcome to the world of "no one's listening"
Just wanna break out and escape this prison

The main reason in this picture why there are labels on the character's clothing is because he/she has taken a number of the insults or stereotypes that was placed on him/her by other people and believed it. A lot of teenagers who have dealt with depression, one of the major leading factors is bullying (whether that is cyber, verbal, emotional, or physical) but one could argue and say that when people feel very alone in life or lose someone very dear to them. That is where the labels on the window come into play. If this person was to go walking through the streets, would you have even cared? Would you even ask "what is wrong?" Probably not, because those that deal with depression tend to be very good at hiding their true feelings, hence why it is like we are walking in a sea of masks. Another eye-catching element of this picture is the swastika. This, again, was not aimed to offend anyone but this is a stereotype- a number of people in the world look at German or people of German descent Nazis. On the To Do List, the f-word is toned out because I am attempting to get over my swearing habit. If you have a problem with that, keep it to yourself.

I bet you are wondering why is the character hiding his/her own face. So you can yourself in this place... I did not want to say "this is my character" because I want to relate to others. Honestly I have put myself/character under that bowl of shame many times. But the question is, who's face is under there? Is that your face or a friend's face?

Yeah, I know that this looks like a bunch of crap that was put together and probably won't get any faves. Know that if you put anything NEGATIVE here, it will promptly be deleted. The main reasons behind why I made this are I wanted to relate to people who have been in the pit of despair like I have, and to promote healing of the mind. Since I have been here, myself, I still have not fully recovered from my depression-state and the time I have attempted suicide. This actually makes myself feel better as I can express myself, thus enabling healing of the mind, heart, and soul.

My inspiration for this piece first-of-all comes from Thousand Foot Krutch's emotional song entitled "Look Away" as well as real experience. This is the reflection of the soul and how alone I have felt.

© YourRisingStorm; xXPuppy-ScampXx 2012