I Was a Teen Run Away
I've always had Social Anxiety.... but as a teen, my household was so horrible, living with a raving drug addicted and abusive father. I would just get so fed up with everything and "run away" from home.
Because of my disorder, I never went too far. Just a few neighborhoods away, across the street from my old elementary school. There is a huge playground there. I would hide there and try to blend in with the other children there. And by night, everyone would go home and I would hide under the jungle gym. I never made it a full night there. Just half the night, alone, cold, and afraid. I had to look out for drug dealers and men looking for prostitutes my age. And then I always came back home... feeling hopeless.
I use to stand for a few minutes, outside of the house of my friend (at that time) and wonder about how happy she was, with her family. Safe and warm inside, sleeping the night away, not a worry about her father breaking things and threatening to kill her mother. I often wish to be her instead. And then I would give a heavy sigh and head home, sometimes crying.
It was never a good idea to run away, though. I could have gotten hurt or killed. The sad thing of it was, I was just a lost girl who needed help. I wish there was an adult that could have helped me then. But, the good news is, I turned out okay in the end. :-)
