Every rose has its thorn
Just like every night has its dawn
Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song
Every rose has its thorn

-Poison

In every person's life, there comes a point where you break down and want to escape it all. Like a bump in the road that you can't drive over, a thorn on a rose that you didn't see, or a mud puddle that you slipped and fell in to on accident.

There were times she wished she lived in a fantasy land where no one ignored her. Sometimes, she's glad that her horse kicked her in the head. Because everyone gave her the attention that she needed. But being sent away to a place she had never been made her feel like she was weak and useless. She was back to being ignored.

In her mind, she thinks that her friends are better than her. They are the pop music on everyone's iPod that gets listened to, while she's the old album of an old artist laying under the bed, forgotten. They're the shiny, expensive gems that collectors look for, while she's just the plain, ordinary rock that no one looks at.

And the sad part of it is, is that her friends don't know how special they are. And they certainly don't see how much she notices. There are parts of her friends lives that she envies, but other parts that she pities.

Jake has looks that make the girls check him out and impressive skills with horses that ranchers years older and wiser can only look on in envy. And although he could act cocky and rude like anyone else in his position would do, he still manages to act like a real person. But Sam was the only one that can see the guilt he holds in his eyes.

And Jen has a brain that is able to solve any problem that you could throw at her. Every teacher that worked at the school were always eager to have Miss Kenworthy in their class. Colleges offered her scholarships left and right and her parents could only look on in joy at the genius their daughter was. But Sam was the only one that could see the stressed lines on her forehead whenever she took a test.

And Ally has a voice that can make people stop what they're doing. Kids looking up in wonder, women looking on in envy, and men were hypnotized. But without her voice, she was plain. Her hair in a messy bun and her voice on mute. Made fun of by bullies, treated like dirt by her father for awhile, and left behind at a young age by a mother that never cared. But Sam was the only one that could see the truth behind every, "It doesn't bother me".

And Darrel has a laugh that could brighten anyone's day. A wonderful sense of humor from a person who's always enjoying life. The young man who use to be a 'player', but finally realized his ways and settled down with the plain girl that has the voice of an angel. Every one at school enjoys his company, but their parents don't. They can't see past the baggy pants and bad boy reputation and 'player' ways. But Sam was the only one that could see he was a one woman man now and meant every, "I love you".

But do any of them know how much she notices? They all had everything that she had to live without and everything that she would rather live without. And still no one notices her. There's nothing special about her, so she can understand why they don't try. No one finds anything behind the boring auburn hair and ordinary brown eyes. But if they ever tried, they might be surprised at what they find.

And Sam has a mind that's always thinking, always wondering, and always worrying. A heart designed to love and arms made for hugging. The girl who use to think her friends were better than her, but was very wrong. A girl who use to envy, but now knows that it was childish to envy. And this time, only Jake can see past the forgotten girl. Only Jake can get her to confess everything that she thinks of him and her other friends. And he sees how she thinks she's not special. After her confession, he tells her that she is special and gives her a small peck on the forehead.

That day, she truly believes she is special. And Jake reminds her everyday of how special she is. He told her on their first date, after that had their first kiss, during his proposal to her, after they eloped when she was eighteen, during the first time they made love after their not-so-traditional wedding, and every day as they grew older.

And there are times when she looks back on every thought that she had and sees that it was childish. It was wrong to envy her own friends. She's older and now realizes that there will always be bumps in the road, but you need to drive over them. There will always be thorns on roses, but you need to just ignore the blood and get a band-aid. There will always be mud puddles, but you have to learn to watch where you walk.