There was a fifteen-year old in the workshop last week who wrote about her puppy love. When he broke up with her she couldn’t eat. She couldnt sleep. She couldn’t smile or hang out with any of her friends. And she couldn’t tell anyone.

I fell in love with my James Dean in seventh grade. THE BAD BOY. What is it about young girls who fall in love with the outlier?

I started thinking about my own history with the guys from the wrong side of the tracks. They were poets. They were sad. They had potential and by god I was going to help them realize that potential.

I think part of the attraction was the “other”, the other ness of such boys. And girls for that matter. Their backgrounds were so different from mine and my curiosity was dancing the frug. I just couldn’t resist.

Also these beings were broken and fixing someone was a burning need in my social worker heart.

Thank god or goddess or whomever helps you make the right choice I didn’t marry one of them. But many of us did.

PROMPT: Write your story of the bad boy or the bad girl (bad only defined by our culture…. no judgments here) and who did you ultimately choose.

1. Write for ten minutes without stopping, thinking or censoring yourself.

2. Post your writing in the comments below this post.

3. Include what classes you've taken (and when) and a short bio if you like.

4. PLEASE comment on this piece and the writing of each other. We all know how that feels! Just hit the "reply" icon on the top at the right within their comment so it posts right underneath the writing.

If you have any trouble posting a comment, please feel free to get in touch with Cissy: cissy_white@comcast.net and she will help you.