Challenge
Spooky All Year Long
So I know you wondered how did it all started? Where all these scary things happened? It started at a retirement home where I was the recreational director. Just a few years on the job, the staff asked me to do a Halloween party for the retired folks. Mr. Fred is my name. I have many disciplines and many areas of achievement in college. But this is the only place I could really show my learnings. This is the only place I could show how smart and creative I could be. So yes I took on this recreational director position and I fought hard for my job. And ever week before then I would coordinate with my staff to make sure everything would be safe. Finally the day came, Halloween. And we played Stevie Wonders' Superstition. And I joined the folks with my staff to bring joy and holiday cheer. I was feeling particularly good and happy. Seeing the smiles and that everything was going ever so pleasant. My eyes could not see anything going wrong. Then my staff assistant noted some are doing two steps, others the electric slide and others happy dance. I got so disturbed by the thoughts and what the bosses would say that I turned the music off and exclaimed while dancing. Remember folks like the Thriller video, you were suppose to follow my lead that I showed the staff to teach you. I'm the Michael Jackson and you are the zombies. Then as I finished the folks booed me and threw things at me. And I got on the mic threatening to cancel the party. And then a group of folks said You're gonna wish you did not say that to us. You're gonna wish you did not threaten us. Spooky all year. Then the crowd yelled Spooky all year. And I said all hell no Party is over. And one of the staff pulled the fire alarm and everybody exit the recreational room. Then months later while my wife and I were romantically dining at our house. I saw these demonic nuns went by. And I thought it was a nightmare come to life. I kept asking my wife did she see it. I looked outside and I was frantic with a weapon. It turned out it was some teenagers harassing me. Then my house lights started to flicker on and off every time I wanted to read. Then some shadows kept chasing me down the hallway, up the street and everywhere. Months and months then some women from my past, really who I went to school with a long long long time ago. They started showing up at my job pretending like they had grandparents. They kept wanted me to rate them and they kept asking for marriage and I told them peacefully I am married as I was on the job. Being badger at my job, I even threatened to call my wife to threatened them herself. Then Months and months later, I heard the song Stevie Wonders' Superstitious. And I was at a family reunion and Great Aunt Ginune, she wanted to read everybody palm and cast a spell. I got freak out that I took my whole family after telling her she is godless and sick. We drove to the other half of the country but something came right along with us. I drove till Sunday and we all slept, eat breakfast and got to church on time. I got saved all over again and left the retirement home position and applied for Head Director. I prayed that I would be a Christian leader. That I would be godly and denounce all evil ways. I did not get the job but another job at a local community center. I learned to let people be. I learned to not let people control me. I learned to not let my own ambitions get into the way of my success. And I was happier no longer spook. That spell That curse no longer made me afraid no more spooky all year.
By Distinguished Honorary Alumni Dr. Matthew Primous3 years ago in Writers
Self Interview - 10 Questions to Dig Deep On
Why am I doing this? Because it's always good to dig deep, and evaulate yourself in your life with whatever you're doing every now and then. Asking yourself questions, and REALLY digging into them within yourself is a good way to keep you on the right track, or help you get back on it.
By Hope Martin3 years ago in Writers
Who Knows What I Am?
May of 2023. Just a few months from year 35 on this orbital rock; metal, gas and moisture coated planet. I had a startling fact bloom in front of my heart and grip it like a pitcher. Baseball in hand and needing one last strike out to win the championship. Bases loaded and the batter with a full count. Bottom of the 9th and everything is riding on the pitch. I had been wearing a mask. Not a Halloween mask meant to temporarily scare off terrifying spirits trying to enter me while the veil is thin. Not a face mask meant to soften my skin after being traumatized by Ohio winter winds. The mask was born of decades of trying to not stand out. Not to be too different on the outside where you become a target. Just different enough to take one step outside of the normal shuffling body’s milling to and from. In recent years, we have many laying claims and to gender identity and sexuality. Even, resurrecting ones that history forgot or giving names to ones with less clear distinction. At 15, I suspected that other sexes also appealed to me. It was not just “boys” as they were known in 2004. Women could catch my eye and I would visually appreciate their wares. Beautiful curves, soft sloping shoulders and vulpine smiles. But I wasn’t out and I wasn’t sure. Was it an appreciation of what my own figure didn't hold? Was it a recognition of features in a collective that made this person attractive? I was confused. Over fifteen years later, I find my self on a dating application geared towards woman and previous AFAB (assigned female at birth) folks in search of similar parties. I met this woman that was intriguing to me. She was smart in streets and on paper. A rarity I'm finding in recent years. She was tall, not much when you consider my meager five foot, three and ¾ inches. She was a full six feet and three inches. She made me blush at her attention and bite my lip as I considered if she wanted to get to know me better. A faithful, hateful day in May made me reconsider everything I knew about me. She told me that it felt like I was telling her what she wanted to hear and not what was really me. She felt I was just wearing a mask. It was at that moment, that simple grain of sand in my hourglass became a singular stretch into an infinity of confusion. I was baffled because I knew who I am. Who I came from and who I was growing up to be. So I thought… So I had foolishly perceived. I stopped messaging her. Ghosted her fully and doubled down on me. Spent time trying to reconnect to my inner most self. That person that made me who I was. What I had not considered was how much time I spent trying to pass in a society that didn't think young girls could present with mental health disruptions like ADHD. Many would wonder “what does ADHD have to do with your sexuality, let alone your Identity?” Absolutely everything. I have spent 20 years trying to just pass as a woman that is a bit quirky, a lot nerdy with a deep love of anime and Japanese culture. I appreciated many body types, but never touched out of trying to not draw attention to me. Wanting to fade into the background like a shade loving plant forced into full sun. I’m not thriving, I’m barely surviving but, I’m too damn stubborn to consider being unalive. That is not who I was. I don't believe that's who I am. Years spent trying to focus on homework after school just to not understand what my notes were telling me. Years of taking detailed notes and copying examples verbatim only to look at them hours later and they look like alphabet soup. No order, jumbled like a word search or tiles in a Scrabble game. Time spent trying to clean a space but either being met with crippling anxiety. The fear of not accomplishing this one seemingly simple task that is a part of normal people’s lives. A criteria to be an adult sufficient in adulting. Or, if the anxiety doesn't lay me out flat, the executive dysfunction chimes in. Time spent having my brain screaming and planning what I need to do in order to accomplish a simple goal- clean my room or do my homework. Simple tasks but the body is not complying with the requests. The brain is reading the daily To-Do list but, the body is hiding under the covers and refusing to take action at being productive. Brain is busy, body is not and neither are happy with it. Hearing the various murmurs of how “you’re so smart, don't waste it. You should go back to college.” Or the comments of “Just because you don't want to do it, it's got to be done,” when it refers to chores. Constant statements with various verbiage of “She is really bright and she will go far if she would apply herself,” or “She is so gifted but she has to get over her laziness if she wants to succeed.” Statements meant to boost morale and rally the troops, but packs me down with the tastes of failure and the reminders that I’m not enough. Then this delves into the more personal depths. Is this keeping me from meaningful relationships? Are these flaws too much for anyone to voluntarily take on and embrace? Is my mental health the real reason I’m lonely? Am I’m too hyper fixated on things that don't strengthen a relationship? Or is the academic and relationship failures symptomatic to my brain scattering everywhere; a doom rave for the squirrels partying instead of steering my nut house in and out of self-depricating harm? This was the moment I had to really sit down through the tears and think hard. At one time, identifying as bisexual seemed right. Seemed to make sense… until other gender identities became a topic. I found myself asking one of my sisters “What is the difference between bisexuality and pansexuality?” At the time, one was showing a preference to both sexes where as the other was not so much the sex, but the person themselves. For a period, that made the most sense. It seemed that pansexuality gave me the fluidity to love who may love me no matter what sex or gender identity they lived as. Keep in mind, these sexuality questions have been weighing heavy on me since at least 2018 with the best that I could say is, I'm bi curious or heterosexual with gay tendencies. It has evolved into a response of “I'm not straight.” But as to what I am, that was still at the development stage. As time went on, the words still didn't fit. The shoe length was good but the width is a bit snug. If I'm being honest with myself, I'm trying to still work out the education side of this equation too. I want more but I’m scared to fail in college, especially after I fought to take classes and even failed one of the two I attempted. Stunned that my native language could show me just how much I couldn't possibly gather; how much I didn't understand. Yet, my course in Japanese awarded me with a B. Not too shabby for this little crabby. Even with the time I sat down and started figuring out my love language, I learned something new still. I love physical touch. I like being hugged or given head pats as a sign of affection. And I love quality time being spent with me. Recognizing that I want to share space with someone I care about makes me warm and gooey like a fudgy, chocolate brownie hot out the oven. So, after only twenty years, I think my identity is a fluid path like a new river carving out its space in rugged terrain. I’m a cisgendered, black woman with Afro coily hair. A rich, natural dark brown with many fairy lights shimmering a wise silver. Lightened ends and mid lengths colored a raspberry plum to catch the eye. I am a nerdy girl that loves Japanese animation and young adult fiction. I have been called a book dragon because I hoard books. They are neat on the shelf and remain there until I find time to read them all. P.s… if someone finds a way to donate me time to read my books, I'll greatly appreciate it 😁. I am an amateur writer that is trying to rework another book in progress while trying to flesh out another testing my synapses. I'm an extroverted introvert whose social battery never charged above 17%. I can socialize with others wearing my trusty mask until I'm home. There, I shuck it off like the husk on an ear of corn and expose my softness. Sit calm in the quiet while the repetitive clicks of my nails tap on my phone screen. Tapping made from the feedback of my fingers pressing buttons, my chunky frame curled up with my treasured plushies, and video game contently. I am a feral gremlin when stressed and no eye of the storm can be found. Fueled by caffeine, determination and pure spite, I weather the storm because I have to. I am the mast the sails hold on to as we push on to the end because there is no turning back. My spirit and bodily crew have no choice but to press forward, the thought of failing again is more crippling than the potential damage. I hold the title of Aunty BB to kids that I love as if they were my own. Kids that may be my cousins, but in my eyes and heart, will always be identified as my nieces and nephews. I identify as a work in progress, kissed by time and touched by higher spirits. Every step I take is a new path I carve out like a work of art waiting in a block of marble. Each word I speak is the beginning of a new chapter to a book unfinished, heavily being revised as new information is uploaded. Each breath I breathe inhales new opportunities and expels unanswered doubts taking up precious space. I am a poly sexual woman that hopes 2024 comes in with wisdom, grace and mercy. Wisdom for the older fool that waited to live their youth. Exploring each facet of this barely cut ruby in the rough. Many faces to see the world through and perspectives to entertain. Grace to know that I'm a work in progress and that everything I start may not go to my plan. It's not for me to determine in the grand scheme of things. I have to learn how to recognize when bowing out is the better decision. And lastly, Mercy. I need to show mercy to myself. Extend that kindness to myself when my internal monologue goes from a running checklist of things to do, shifting into a recount of things I failed. A gentle hand on my own shoulder or back to offer comfort when the inadequacies line up to cast their judgement.
By Bianca Hubbard3 years ago in Writers
Solara's Stand. Content Warning.
In a vast, dense forest, there stood a solitary tree named Solara. Unlike the towering, densely packed trees surrounding her, Solara found herself alone, a single entity amidst the thriving woodland. Despite her solitary existence, Solara possessed an unyielding spirit and an unwritten tale that unfolded through the whispers of the wind and rustling leaves.
By White Wolf3 years ago in Writers
Rising from Ashes: From candlelight dreams to city skyscrapers. Content Warning.
Once upon a time in a small village nestled between rolling hills and lush green fields, there lived a young boy named Ravi. He came from a humble and impoverished family, where each day brought new challenges and struggles. Despite the hardships, Ravi possessed an unwavering determination to break free from the cycle of poverty and make something meaningful out of his life.
By White Wolf3 years ago in Writers
From Light To Darkness, "Mommy" to "Your Mother". Top Story - December 2023.
I Was Sirena The first thing I lost was my face. It faded into the steamed glass fog my vision was becoming as cataracts in my fourteen-year-old eyes sought to claim what little sight remained to me. I looked into a mirror every day and watched myself be erased.
By Sirena Carroll - The Blind Single Mom3 years ago in Writers
Elegance of princess
The concept of royal beauty has fascinated people for centuries. It's a wild and exciting idea that exudes elegance, serenity, and sophistication. The beauty of a beautiful princess is not only physical beauty, but also the inner glow and self-confidence that comes from the inside out. When one thinks of an elegant princess, images of royalty, ball gowns, and tiaras immediately come to mind. She is a beautiful queen, beautiful and loving, manners, and a sense of innocence. She carries herself with grace and poise and easily attracts attention wherever she goes. His presence is seductive and enticing, drawing people into an irresistible illusion. In terms of appearance, the beautiful beauty of the queen is associated with beautiful features of the face, smooth skin, and a small figure. However, it is important to understand that true beauty comes from shapes, sizes, and colors. Feminine beauty transcends the highest standards and embraces individuality and diversity. It's about embracing one's unique qualities and empowering them to express their beauty. The beautiful beauty of the queen is not determined by external characteristics, but is also deeply rooted in internal characteristics. Kindness, love, and generosity are the characteristics of a great leader. He is honest, warm and compassionate towards others, and people are respected and respected in his presence. His words were carefully chosen and were meant to uplift and inspire those around him. He knows the power of his words when used to spread positivity and encouragement. In addition, the beautiful beauty of the female leader shows wisdom and knowledge. He is well read, intelligent, and intellectually intelligent. His stories are engaging and inspiring as he navigates various topics with ease and simplicity. He understands the importance of continuous growth and self-improvement, seeking new knowledge and new experiences. In terms of style, this beautiful beauty is known for her impeccable taste and attention to detail. It combines classic elegance with modern trends to create its own unique and comfortable style. Be it a formal party or a casual outing, she always stands out with her fashion choices. Her clothes are carefully designed to reflect her personality and personality. This beautiful and stylish queen knows that fashion is not only about following trends, but also about expressing yourself and being confident in your own skin. This beautiful lady also knows the importance of caring and loving herself. He focuses on physical and mental health. He takes the time to nourish his body with good food, exercise and proper rest. She knows that beauty is not only about appearance, but also about health and inner strength. He practices meditation, meditation, and other self-care techniques to keep his mind balanced and focused. Finally, the concept of royal beauty is more than physical beauty. A combination of elegance, poise, confidence and inner light. Feminine beauty is a timeless concept that inspires above the highest standards and embraces individuality and diversity. It's about embracing one's unique qualities, enhancing them, and expressing oneself with confidence and love. The beautiful, beautiful queen knows the importance of inner qualities such as kindness, intelligence, and self-care. She is the epitome of beauty inside and out.
By Kayla walker3 years ago in Writers
