My Puzzle of Life, by Lauren Trezza, Dix Hills, NYMy life is like a jigsaw puzzle. Three million pieces at least. Many of them look the same, but each has its own significance. Several of the pieces are missing, mainly because I threw them away, like I did with my life. The corners of the puzzle are not there. Those empty corners are like openings to new worlds and different experiences, most of which I have gone through not by choice, but by ignorance. I try to put the pieces together. I'm struggling because they don't fit, so I force them together. It looks awkward, almost as awkward as the way I feel about myself. It'll have to do for now. Later, I'll become frustrated because I won't like how it turned out. The puzzle looks deformed, like my world. Things are there that shouldn't be. Things are where they don't belong. The pieces are there against their own will, pretty much the way I sometimes feel about me. Now I'm here and I have no choice but to stay and finish the puzzle. I may never find all the pieces. That's okay, I guess, just as long as the ones I do have fit. But that will never happen. Many pieces are in place too soon. I've done so many things in life so far. I have done just about all of them too soon. Some I should not have done at all.But I did. Whether those things were good or bad, I must learn to accept them. Things happen. It's part of life. I know this puzzle will take a long time to finish. With my luck, I may never get the chance to finish it. But my life is a jigsaw puzzle. I guess I'll just have to do it one piece at a time. c