Seventeen — David R. Waddell

Seventeen is the first attempt by author David R. Waddell to relinquish the hardship of heartache into his writing. The idea was to cleverly release his emotions into a drama that would allow him to say what he needed to say to an audience he knew would listen - the characters he would create. Follow the story of a boy and a girl on their shared journey through some of life's most difficult lessons to learn in love, relationship, family, and discovering who you are and who you want to be. As part satire and part personal reflection, he used the characters involved to be both his ears and his mouthpiece, yet also to create an environment where he could perceive all sides of circumstance so he could let go of selfish preconception and take hold of a relational assimilation of thoughts and emotions. Written as his junior year in high school was coming to a close in 2002, this was the start of a lifestyle of choosing to love beyond shortcomings and instead taking hold of the simple idea that we all deserve as many chances as it takes. Though we must establish healthy boundaries, we must not construct walls yet instead choose unconditional trust and a love that surpasses all fear, knowledge, and embraces eternal wisdom as its source.