Top Stories
New stories you’ll love, handpicked for you by our team and updated daily.
Dear Abigail,
Sunlight filters through the sheer curtains. Revealing the spiritual energy of the golden hour. Thinking back to the day before but am uncertain.
Erin GarciaPublished 3 years ago in PoetsCelebrating 20,000 Vocal+ Member Milestone
There are moments in our business, in every business, when the company hits a new stride, a tipping point that can feel akin to the g-force felt when you hit the accelerator in a fast car.
Jeremy FrommerPublished 3 years ago in ResourcesBrilliant Boy
It was a rainy evening as Ellen wiped down the counter of her empty dumpling shop, thirty minutes before closing. Another slow night. Her son lay on his stomach behind the counter, drawing, where he always was during his mother’s evening shifts.
Magic Is All Around, For Those Who Believe
It was fortunate that I was walking that day with a defeated posture. Had I been looking up instead of down, I probably would have walked past it, dismissing it as so many had me, as it crunched, unnoticed and unappreciated, under the heel of my shoe. There I was, head down, eyes averted in every effort to avoid human contact, lurching through the park on my way home from yet another devastating job interview- and there it was, shining benignly up at me, faded black leather with a ringed binding.
Kassia JustinePublished 3 years ago in MotivationBaby on Fire
I wasn't supposed to be in his office. Not now—not ever. That was the command. His command. First, it started with the office, now the basement. Soon it'd be the dining room, the guest bedroom—our bedroom, even. Nothing could shock me too much anymore, but let's just stay I was starting to grow impatient.
Lexie RobbinsPublished 3 years ago in HumansWhen It Rains
I miss you when it rains. Writers have a certain sadness, I think. The peculiar discipline of scooping into one’s own soul, to pour it onto a page requires complete honesty. To write is to imagine oneself living, if only vicariously, as another being. That sharing of a mind, soul and body is exhilarating, but too, exhausting. The knowledge that you can make yourself into anyone, anywhere, brings a certain sadness and the relentless question of “Am I who I’m supposed to be?”
Alyson Kate LongPublished 3 years ago in Poets- First Place in In the Stars Challenge
Shakespeare Was Right About The Stars
My mom gave birth to me at 17 on 1st October 1998 at 2:38 AM. According to Astrosofa.com, this means I'm a zodiac sign Libra with a Leo Ascendant and a moon sign of Aquarius. I have no idea what any of this means.
Laquesha BaileyPublished 3 years ago in Futurism My Father's House
I am standing in the house my father built. The rooms are cold, as they always were. The myth of California is that it’s always warm. Instead, the damp gets inside of you until your skin crawls. The heat was never turned on in my father’s house.
Louis ChalifPublished 3 years ago in FamiliesWhere is console gaming going?
Gaming has come leaps and bounds in ever-increasingly shorter timescales. It only feels like yesterday that I was playing Spyro and Crash Bandicoot on the PS1, but even before that, there were older gaming consoles like the Sega Mega Drive, Nintendo N64, and even consoles like the Atari Pong.
Sports and Politics Walk The Line
Football’s greatest legends: Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, Neymar and now Kylian Mbappé, choosing a worthy candidate for the title ‘Greatest Player in the History of the Game’ is both spectator sport and blood sport, and changes with the times.
Hamish AlexanderPublished 3 years ago in CleatsMusic Genealogy
Spectrum City is a music genealogy project that attempts to trace the ancestral influences of modern popular music. Music follows the same Darwinian principles as life. Natural selection ensures successful mutations are replicated and thrive, whereas sonically flawed mutations become extinct after a few generations.
Ricky ChopraPublished 3 years ago in BeatAt Long Last, I’m (Partially) Excited for Pokémon Again
Pokémon was a significant part of my childhood; as a kid, I was obsessed with the anime and would watch it as often as I could. I never really got into collecting the trading cards though, nor did I play the games released for the Game Boy Advance. I did want Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness for a brief time, but it wasn’t one of the top games on my wish list. However, in 2007, my parents gifted me a Nintendo DS Lite, and with it came an opportunity to finally snag some Pokémon games of my own. I knew that the newest generation of the games was releasing on the DS, and I was excited to finally try one out. It seemed that Pokémon as a whole was entering a new era, because the Diamond and Pearl anime also started to air around this time, and I found myself engrossed in the new characters and creatures the show introduced. I was obsessed with Pokémon, and I was eager to play Diamond and Pearl and have a complete blast traversing through the Sinnoh region. Unfortunately, it would be a while before I got my hands on the games. The opportunity never arose throughout 2007, and I moved to India in the first half of 2008, where the games hadn’t been stocked yet. By this time, I had gotten a chance to finally play some of the older games, and I was certain that I would end up enjoying the DS games. As fate would have it, my father traveled to the United States in the latter half of the year, and he came back with a brand new copy of Pokémon Pearl. It was a dream come true for 10 year old me, and from the moment I booted up the game, I was addicted.
Arvind PennathurPublished 3 years ago in GamersLagniappe
Charles Wheatley pushes through the gas station doors for the one-hundred and thirty-first time this year. For five days a week he stops on his way home from work, legs exhausted, smelling like raw meat, to buy one Sprite and one lottery ticket. He doesn’t tell anyone, even his wife. To them, the lottery is a loser’s game, but he always wins. Perhaps he loses a few real dollars, but he gains so much potential. That’s what keeps him alive.
Noah ThomasPublished 3 years ago in HumansOvercoming Writer's Block and Other Benefits of Becoming a Vocal+ Member in 2021
The eager, excited writer in me was defeated by a full time job, a challenging marriage that began when I was only 18 years old, parenthood and a very abrupt divorce. Did you hear that? Marriage at 18....
Jilana BookerPublished 3 years ago in MotivationTearing down the Walls
Up until recently, telling my story felt futile. I have had so many walls up and have now come to the realisation that there is more to lose by not telling my story. For the longest time, I believed that my story had no value. You see, my life feels ordinary. Whilst I have been through some hardships, grief and loss, I’ve never stopped to consider that these events have shaped me, or that my story might be one that others resonate with.
Adrianna ZaccardiPublished 3 years ago in VivaLockdown's Unseen Crisis of Cognitive Bounce
Here’s a snapshot of my Thursday afternoon: 2 hour global conference presenting our digital transformation consultancy to several hundred excos across our top markets. 1 hour International Women’s Day panel pre-record. 2 x 30 min 2021 KPI setting sessions with direct reports. An hour with our holding co discussing shared service needs. 30 min consultation with my daughter’s college tutor and ex-husband. 30 min check in with French CEO. 1 hour session with tech founders looking for collaboration potential. 30 min client proposal run through. 30 min weekly status with US team. 8pm and breathe…
Bianca BestPublished 3 years ago in JournalIndecisive Since the Womb
Are we defined by when we are born? Is a preemie who was supposed to be born two to three months later and spends the first few months of his/her/their life in an incubator going to have the same zodiac sign as a fully developed healthy baby who was born at the same time? Or would the preemie have a personality that reflects when he/she/they would have been born healthy?
To the Beat: February 2021
Being the Queen is not all about singing, and being a diva is not all about singing. It has much to do with your service to people. And your social contributions to your community and your civic contributions as well. - Aretha Franklin
Vocal Curation TeamPublished 3 years ago in BeatFour decades since Zoff was on top of the world
The oldest player ever to win the Fifa World Cup turns 79 today, but surprisingly it’s almost 40 years ago that he achieved that status.
Steve HarrisonPublished 3 years ago in Cleats5 Eerie Historical Facts from Around the World
History is filled with weird, unexplainable, and even unbelievable stories. Not all historical events make it to the headlines, some are swept under the rug to make room for the bigger ones. Yet, it is important to know not just the big names and events of history but also the little details that give much more context about a specific era or period.
ElMehdi ElAzharyPublished 3 years ago in FYI