Maria Shaw
Bio
I have had a roller coaster of a life and would love to share some of my real life and my imagination with others through stories.
Stories (29/0)
Mystery Package
Maria often sits at her window sill waiting for something. She never knows what but feels like life is just a waiting game. Maria doesn’t have many close friends and often ends up alone and isolated from most of the world. Maria’s parents want her to venture out but instead she often ends up sitting in front of the window sill. Maria is a good soul, one who does for others and one who cares for everyone. She seems to be waiting for something though so her parents keep encouraging her to venture out and be more of a people person. Every time Maria has ventured out it has ended with turmoil. She once went to a teen club with friends that ended in a shooting with 3 of her classmates dead. Maria once went out to a play and somehow a flesh eating bacteria infected the dancers. Maria has always seen the positive in tragedy and has always wanted the best for all. One day from her window she sees a drone coming near her home. The drone is carrying a package. Maria watches as the package is gently dropped on her doorstep, then she runs downstairs.
By Maria Shawabout a year ago in Fiction
The Aquarium
There are these two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes, “What the hell is water?”
By Maria Shawabout a year ago in Fiction
A Defeated Teacher
Let me start by saying I have always been “that teacher”. The one that kids come to for help, the one kids stay in contact with years after leaving my classroom, the one that people say reaches all kids from the naughties to the advanced. I have prided myself in being a great teacher and in knowing that I helped kids in an inner city district get to college and beyond. This year though I have finally hit my breaking point. I have finally been defeated.
By Maria Shawabout a year ago in Education
Dragon Bonded
A brutal scene with a glimpse of innocence attracts the flying beast from overhead. Blood, limbs, and carnage are everywhere painting the forests red instead of green. Precise vision from the winged creature tracks movement of a small human figure. The youth cries and wails as if in pain but no injury seems apparent. The dragon, beautiful and strong, continues to survey the scene. What happened here? It looks like a battle ground but yet everyone is dead and only a mere child remains. The body count is high and two humans lay at the feet of the small toddler as it continues to scream and cry as if injured. The dragon sits and observes using its cloaking abilities to stay out of sight. Human eyes can not see the trick of light that dragons have used for ions to stay hidden from this world. They do in fact still exist but few are aware. We stay hidden and to the few places on Earth that still remain light in human populations. We rarely trust those human creatures, they have betrayed us too many times and lessened our numbers to mere handfuls spread throughout the world.
By Maria Shawabout a year ago in Fiction
Happiness vs Monday
Financially I will be honest and say I basically have nothing. I was a teen mother that put myself through college because I didn’t want my kids (yes I had 2 before really being an adult) to have to struggle. Student loan debt and credit card debt (yes when food stamps run out and so does everything else going credit card to credit card still allows for food) has crippled me. I’m doubting I will ever be able to get out of debt. My goal is to be at 0, I remember hearing my father say this once when I was younger after my mother died but I didn’t understand it until much later. One day it’d be nice to be financially okay but I do have more than most people even if it’s not financial.
By Maria Shaw2 years ago in Education
Fully funded teen mom after high school - How to?
I went to college and have two masters degrees after being a teen mom and living on my own. I did it by getting grants, scholarships, and loans through schools. I received a check of over $10,000 each year to pay for things like rent and basic needs from school. I was able to become something other than a fast food worker and can provide for my family without any help from the welfare system after college. You can do this too and you can show your child or children that perseverance and brain power can pull up anyone.
By Maria Shaw2 years ago in Education
First Year Teaching Advice
You've decided to become a teacher and devote yourself to student learning. The problem is the things you learned in school hardly prepares you for education today. The theory and perfect classrooms you've seen in study don't really exist or if they do I'm not sure where they are. Today I'm going to focus on what you need to know to start the school year off correctly.
By Maria Shaw2 years ago in Education
Weight Loss Week 2
Week 1 is over and you did it. Yes you may have made mistakes, you may have had a day or two that you messed up and didn’t track or get your water in but for the most part you did what you needed to. Yes you spent a lot of time in the bathroom but again that is you getting rid of the excess weight and washing it away with the extra water you drank. You’ve written things down or taken pictures so you now know what you are putting into your body that might be a problem. This week is about making a cut to your calories and picking something that you can adjust or live without.
By Maria Shaw2 years ago in Longevity
Weight Loss Week 1
So you want to lose weight that you actually keep off, great decision on your part. Weight loss can be difficult for some and easy for others. The part that isn’t easy is the maintenance with weight loss. We’ve seen the people who’ve dropped so much weight and look fabulous. I’ve been one of them. I’ve lost 100lbs before, 40lbs, 50lbs, and other lesser amounts. The problem is I haven’t been able to maintain the loss because as soon as the diet is over I go back to old habits. You’ve heard it’s a lifestyle, you’ve heard to make small livable changes, and you’ve heard to make realistic goals. These are all true. You are not going to drop your roll right on the ground after a week of doing things the “healthy way”. It doesn’t work that way. I’m starting again but this time I’m starting with making changes slowly so I can adapt to them and make them a long term habit so this time I can keep the weight off permanently. If this is your first week then this week we are going to start with 2 things. You are going to start writing down what you eat and drinking water. Not water with coffee, not water in your Kool aid, and not water in your diet coke. You need real actual water and you need to know what you are putting in your body so you can make adjustments that still allow you to live but drop the excess.
By Maria Shaw2 years ago in Longevity
