Top Stories
New stories you’ll love, handpicked for you by our team and updated daily.
As First Dates Go...
The colors on the wall seemed to take on a life of their own, enveloping the couple in rays of pinks and blues. It seemed to represent them perfectly: their love was a baby blue, new and unsure, and their circumstance was a deep dark red, brooding and uncertain.
Lexi BrelonPublished 7 days ago in Humans
League of Legends: Wild Rift is the way the game was always meant to be played
Last week, just a day or two after League of Legends: Wild Rift, launched on iOS, I made this tweet: And you know what? I stand by it. After spending a week with Wild Rift, I can confidently say it's the most fun I've had on a mobile game in a long time. Not only that, but Wild Rift plays better on mobile, and is in fact superior to the original game.
Caleb ClarkPublished 8 days ago in Gamers- Created with: Bright Cellars
How To Tell Which Wine Will Pair Best With Your Dinner
I mean there’s nothing better than a home cooked meal at the end of the day, right? Ok, maybe a home cooked meal AND a bottle of wine.
Alana HosnPublished 8 days ago in Feast - Created with: Bright Cellars
My Top Tips To Host The Best Girls Night EVER
On average, every month has 30 days and I think that as responsible adults, it’s necessary to dedicate at least one of them to a girls night gathering. The problem is that it’s been so long since most of us have experienced a girls night at home, rather than going out, that we’ve forgotten how to. It’s time to put your cell phones on silent mode, pour a big glass of wine and get ready to spill the tea because I’m about to walk you through the steps of creating the best girls night ever.
Nicole Kay ClarkPublished 8 days ago in Proof 
3 Ways To Monetize Your Gaming Habit
The video game industry is projected to generate 159.3 billion dollars in 2020 alone. With an average growth rate of 9.3% year over year, these numbers will continue to increase with time.
Rhys McIntyrePublished 8 days ago in Gamers
How to befriend an Introvert in 5 Easy Steps
I would consider myself to be on the extreme end of the introvert scale. Couple that with an anxiety disorder and making friends doesn't exactly come easy.
Jessie WaddellPublished 8 days ago in HumansMusic To (Not) Write To
Music is something I feel deep within my body. It isn't that I have some irresistible urge to break out into 'Free Bird' at the crack of dawn every morning or make a habit out of strumming 'Wonder Wall' on an acoustic guitar that materializes in my hands anytime college kids start drinking. I get absorbed by music, though. If I'm cleaning or cooking this isn't a problem. It's easy to throw shapes in an empty apartment while sweeping, even if that does mean I'll end up kicking at least one pile into oblivion in the process.
John DodgePublished 8 days ago in BeatHow Vocal made me open up my writing
Okay, I just wanted to start out and thank the community of Vocal—-you guys are great. From the writers, the different and diverse communities, the editors, and the staff—thank you.
Melissa IngoldsbyPublished 9 days ago in Journal
On a scale of 1-10, how much do you like yourself?
"This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man." - William Shakespeare
Kennedy FarrPublished 9 days ago in MotivationThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
As we think about the progress we’ve made in the realm of science and technology, it also raises the question of how ethics and morals play a part in those developments. The HeLa cell has provided a great deal of scientific advancements, from proving phenomenons such as cloning to supporting the creation of vaccines, to providing further proof around the spread of viruses and other illnesses. It is the first known cell line that was immortal, having the strength to withstand cell transportations via postal mail, as well as mitigating polio disease. As researchers, scientists, and medical professionals alike praise their peers and colleagues for their contributions to the development of science using these unique cells, there seems to have been a name that was left out as the main source of these discoveries, and that’s Henrietta Lacks.
Earica ParrishPublished 9 days ago in FYI
A Date With Water
I have always loved the water. I soak in hot springs. I mud and salt my bare body in murky lakes. I pray in holy rivers. I swim naked in Japanese bath-houses with other naked women. Immersing myself in water is the only time I truly switch off from the world. When I turn the tap labelled H all the way to the right with just a little bit of C, I dunk my head in as the ceramic bowl fills. I feel my hair soak and my ears fill with growling minerals. My nose and face are exposed in the hot damp air, just enough for me to breathe. I close my eyes, and I listen to the waters thunder. If I keep my eyes shut long enough, I envision myself lost at sea, floating away from a sunken ship. The water is not rough, nor cold. I float through the night, staring up at the stars that blanket the sky. I see huge stars, tiny stars, a white full moon with a blank staring face. The sinking ship is far from me now, I have no guarantee of surviving the night. But in this sea, I am completely safe, for if death should come I couldn’t ask for a calmer one. In essence, everything is sweet.
Melissa Angius SalvatorePublished 11 days ago in Psyche
Creator Spotlight: Little Black Book Challenge Winner - Jess Sambuco
Jessica Sambuco, a.k.a. the first-place-winning creator of the Vocal+ exclusive Little Black Book Challenge (Created with Moleskine), spoke with admirable humility when we asked her about the largest win in Vocal Challenge history. Not to mention, she did it on her first try. That's right—one submission, one win, $20k in the bank.
Vocal SpotlightPublished 12 days ago in ResourcesThe recurring death
The death of any loved one is difficult and healing can be hindered by simply taking care of business. I vaguely experienced this with my mother and my grandmother but it's almost unbearable now that my husband has died. We spent 45 years together which is 5 years shy of being half a century. He has only been gone about 3 weeks but it feels like an eternity. Each time I believe I am having a good day something happens that causes me to feel as if he has just died all over again. It feels like smooth sailing and then waves crashing down over and over again taking my breath away before they subside.
Cheryl E PrestonPublished 12 days ago in FamiliesSecond Place in Sister Circle Challenge
In the Times Of Xenophobia
Dear Mama Anita, Mama, when we came here first, the language was the hardest part wasn't it? You practiced for hours, head bent over my borrowed laptop watching videos and old CDs. I remember the trips to the libraries, where you painstakingly selected the best books, and audiotapes and copied word for word pages upon pages of the mysterious English language.
- Created with: PYM
My Perspective on PYM Mood Chews, As A Nutritionist
Stress. It’s a six letter word that we hear and experience all too often. Not only are we constantly seeing or hearing about it in the news and media, but it’s that sudden heart racing feeling when the dog throws up and you're already late to a meeting, it’s your mother birthday and you forgot to send flowers, and, oh, cars out of gas. As you are watching the minutes tick away, your hypothalamus, a tiny control tower in your brain, decides to send out the orders, “send in the stress response!”. This stress signal is the same one that triggers your body’s “fight or flight” response. Your heart races, your breath quickens, and your muscles are ready for action. While this response is great to protect you from impending danger, when it keeps firing day after day it can actually be putting your health at risk.
Ashley Reinke HawkPublished 12 days ago in Longevity - Created with: PYM
I Tried PYM Original Mood Chews & Here's What Happened
We’ve all seen advertising for a product that seems just too good to be true. We’re skeptical, but despite our doubts we really hope it works.
Nathalia RamosPublished 12 days ago in Longevity Sequester
Light gently permeated this foreign place from incandescent pinheads in the far off distance, entire galaxies unknown to man spaced far yet not so few between. Clouds of gaseous blue and purple detonations mottled across this great beyond, surpassing the grasp of one’s ability to imagine it’s scope, let alone handle an understanding of such phenomena. My head, both light and lagging, revolved across this vast spacescape in awe, temporarily unaware of the absurdness of my situation as I sheepishly peered into the glory of both past and present. As my gaze descended my eyes caught my pale feet, wide and naked, firmly planted on an imperceptible plain. A torrent of ice began to stretch from behind my eyes up and backward, a measured waltz from neuron to the next which promptly dissipated as it’s travel found the nape of my neck. My lips curled as my mouth cracked in horror letting out a scream, a scream that came up silent as if I were an actor in one of those silent film reels I’d seen as a child.
Aldo PalaoroPublished 12 days ago in HorrorA Love Letter to My Worst Heartbreak; You.
12/21/16 You. There was always something about you. I had never been able to read people like I could read you. And no one was ever able to read me as easily as you do. From the moment I first laid eyes on you, I don’t know, something clicked. I remember it all so vividly. I remember your smile. The shine in your eyes. That was about a year ago, huh? And now I feel that the roles have reversed. Now it’s me who is star struck by you, who wants to get to know more about you, who talks about you at home. Now you’re the cute girl. The amazing girl. I don’t know why I decided to write this, I feel it was the easiest way to express myself without stumbling or getting emotional. Truth be told, I never imagined myself here with you. I never really thought I would fall for you. And it never occurred to me that you would be such an important part of my life. I never imagined I would tell you secrets about myself, or that I would allow you to find secrets about myself I didn’t even know about. I was always very shut off from everyone. But with you I can’t help it. I don’t want to feel what I do for you, yet I do. I honestly don’t know what I want anymore. I think I should distance myself, but I also don’t think I can, and I don’t want you to. I want us to be close and just continue getting closer. But, I’m sitting here thinking, what am I really supposed to do? You are helping me realize I deserve to be loved and put first. And god I want that so badly. I want one day to be with someone I love, who loves me too, who looks at me like I am the best thing to ever happen to them. I want someone to look at me as if I am it. I want someone to look at me like I look at you, forgetting that there is a whole world. I don’t know why we are doing this. I don’t know why you were this significant to me, and why I fell for you. But I did, and I am not minding at all. But like you said, at the end of the day, no matter what, I am the one who is going to get hurt… Nothing will ever make me look at you badly, or change the fact you are my best friend. Nothing will ever damage who you are to me or the role you had in my life.
Monica CarneiroPublished 12 days ago in Confessions
The History of April Fool’s Day
Let’s face it, we all forget about April Fool’s Day before it’s too late. Over the last couple of years, it seems that everyone has accepted the challenge of pulling off the ultimate prank. From YouTubers to politicians, there is no way of telling who will get to say the words we all dread to hear… APRIL FOOLS!
People! Just say Something!Published 12 days ago in FYI
Adopting a Dinosaur
You know how when you're eighteen and you make dumb choices? Yeah. This is one of those stories I was still a teenager, barely an adult, when I moved out with my boyfriend to a brand new city. For the first few months we lived in someone else's house; a mattress on the floor in the corner, cardboard boxes filled with our meagre belongings stacked against the opposite wall, living off cereal, hotdogs, and Sidekicks noodles.
Lindsay RaePublished 12 days ago in Petlife
