Statement of Aesthetics [excerpts] I do not feel that I have led an extraordinary life, but rather that I have had the great fortune to have met extraordinary people. It is from these recollections that I have crafted this manuscript. All of the characters are amalgams. All of the emotions are mine. There is more than one voice, as I believe that we are all more than one person: who we are, who we were, and who we aspire to be. Each of these young people want to be more than they have been led to believe they were....