Tariq--Essence of Existence

   Prosperity attempts to flee eternal rest not knowing longevity only lies within the grave  Chasing the unchaseable as a shackle­less slave  three stages are found  rooting from the womb expanding as a branch to the tomb  And through an enlightened birth we begin Crawling to   walk upon the right path seeking a  glorious life before the inevitable doom     But maybe just maybe through the return to the universal black one will enter an essence  renewed ­Tariq Ali          The most important of phrases one may reflect upon tend to begin with the word what. So in  contemplation of what the ultimate of questions stemming from "What" it is incumbent upon the  soul  that it be directly related to the expansiveness of its being. So I pose the rhetorical  question what does it mean to exist? What is it to breathe, to feel ,to have thought, to live and to  die. My question is rhetorical for three simple reasons. Firstly  I wish for those whose minds are  firmly touched by the question to challenge their brains and answer it for there own well being.  Secondly because I don't truly desire another's explanation; I must have my own answer being  that I'm my own individual and live in my body in solitude. The greatest of reasons for the  rhetorical nature of my questions though  is that in spite of my wishes when it comes to a clear  definitive answer to "what is it to exist"there is none. We are similar beings yet we differentiate in  process of thought to the preciseness of the fingerprint. Myself nor any other being holds the  cookie cutter answer to  existence package. Whether someone one wants to attribute existence  to a creator or a non­causal evolutionary theory neither is befitting of such limitations.  Irregardless of our narrow understanding of existence as humans there is that which we can  remain certain of , and that is that our existence is ever changing and is composed of three  levels. The past we must draw from to maximize the present and in turn bettering the potential  of the future however it may come into fruition, while not wasting fear upon that which is  inevitable.             The universe possesses millions of niches known and unknown to mankind and for them to  be filled it requires a deep self focus and maintenance of those who fill the gap. It may be  applicable and of great benefit for one to draw from another source of existence  but it need not  be mirrored for one to formulate their definition of existence. My definition changes every day  from experience and discovery but it is constant in its basis that I've formed it upon. Basis may  vary but they need to be roots of power and high significance to individual be it God ,family, or  success. It must be remembered that no one has the right or the ability to form another's  meaning for what it is to exist. A higher level of overall existence may be found in the plumber  than in the CEO and satisfaction can be found as a nomad in opposition to an owner of land.  What is of quintessence in our defining of existence is that wherever we lie as humans we are  determined to strive.          It is commonplace that in our existence as a coping mechanism we pretend that our situation  is constant. That things will not change and that we must avoid everything that can disrupt the  pleasant status quo which we belong to. This mindset cuts us off from so many internal  resources we have due to fear of harm, pain and death knowing deep down that these events  are necessary to growth and ostensibly impossible to avoid. We must not love mediocrity and  fear discomfort so much that we deny ourselves of an increased existence. The discomfort we  are linked to throughout our lives whether it be the daily pains the higher pains or even death  are simply trials or pathways making us worthy of the positions which are greater than what we  we hold. There is so much nobility we can pull from our past but many of times we are afraid to  do so because of pain and we , are complacent when it comes to maximizing the present  because of current comfort and we are so unsure of the future we neglect it. Whatever it means  to exist that is clearly the antithesis of it and does not allow us to do as we must to find and  complete this definition as it applies in our own lives.         The human capacity is nearly infinite being that a new discovery is made every week. We  can not put a cap or limit on anything in understanding, for understanding and phenomenon are  continuously expanding. Our existence covers who we completely are. So when asking the  question what does it mean to exist? What's really being asked is who are we and what's our  purpose. These questions seem like abstract ideas on type of abstract ideas but from these  abstract ideas we can draw very practical applicable and agreeable concepts. So in spite of  their being no specific definition of what it means to exist we can form some fundamental  principles of existence. Existence occurs and evolves in stages, existence is growing and  defining yourself while discovering the concept of your existence, it is seizing the day, and it is  not fearing that which is inevitable and  may possibly bring forward a better existence than we  previously ever knew 

Kayla M.--Balance

Keeping everything in your life where its supposed to be and juggling responsibilities while trying to strive for a successful future is a hassle of being well balanced. Balance is an even distribution of weight, enabling someone to remain upright and steady. Without balance all of lives would have no structure or support, like a body without bones to hold it upright. How do we obtain balance? Through experience, mistakes, and knowledge. You may often hear, “Knowledge comes with age,” and its true. Without making mistakes and learning from them, we wouldn’t be able to become balanced. Personally, balance is the most important trait I have because I know I have a balance of confidence with awareness. Which makes me seem wiser and more knowledgeable than the average seventeen year old. This control has given me the opportunities that has contributed to my journey of success and happiness. Once your learn to self control and balance, success is closer than you think.

Jeremiah--Sleepless Nights

  It was 11:59 pm on a cool Thursday night. The fan makes a constant inaudible noise and  his bed was soft and comfortable. Despite this pristine sleeping environment, he laid down on his  bed wide awake looking at the emptiness of the his white ceiling. He thought to himself how he  should already be asleep and that every second he misses out on will negatively affect his  performance on his economics presentation just 8 hours later. “Why?” he kept thinking to  himself, why was he awake and what is keeping him up. Shortly after a few more strikes of the  clock, he realized what had been bothering him. He got up and with his pen and paper started to  write in his journal, he wrote out his emotions, thoughts, and whatever popped into his mind.    August 14, 2013   Honestly I don’t understand what I’m feeling right now, my head hurts and I have a  presentation tomorrow and plenty of homework I still haven’t done. All I know is for some  reason I keep feeling like something is wrong, something is robbing me from being happy to a  certain degree. I feel lonely, I feel lost. Maybe it’s because I’m thinking too much. Maybe I’m  wondering what if I spoke up and said what I felt. Maybe I’m still questioning what I did or what  I didn’t do to make you ignore me. We really weren’t that close in actuality but all I know is that  I wished I knew what would've happened if I was able to prevent the event that caused you to  ignore me. Am I just boring? Are you just too busy? Did someone else who’s superior come into  your sight? Am I just in love with the idea that could've been something? Am I just sad because I  feel like I’m not good enough? I don’t even know why I feel this way, is it because of you even  though I barely knew you. I’m probably just mesmerized with the idea of not being alone  anymore and that idea slowly died and crumbled away. Maybe I still like the girl whose smile  makes my heartbeat a little faster. The girl I know I have no chance of being with especially  when better men have tried to gain her affection and failed. Rather than show my true feelings I  just stand beside her and just be a friend, nothing more and nothing less. Should I be content with  that? Do I even still like her past a platonic way? Yet every time I hear that you might start liking  someone my heart aches a bit, and every time I hear someone say they like you I encourage them  to tell you how they feel because it was always something I wanted to do but didn’t. I don’t  know if any of these feelings are truly accurate/current or just a fabrication of mind due to  loneliness and fatigue. Maybe I’m in love with the thought or the idea of being in love...  As he finished writing his thoughts on the piece of paper, he looks up and realizes its 1:42  am. He lost nearly 2 hours of sleep but what he gained was his sanity. Expressing his emotions  that for so long he bottled up gave him a sense of relief, something that sleep would of only  delayed. However, his mind remained jumbled and he realizes that he has to take action and  discover his true feelings.    The very next day he feels horrible and wanted to never get out of his bed. It felt like  gravity was magnified but he forces himself to get up and get ready for school that day. The day  went on smoothly even though his sleep deprivation was evident, but then his thoughts from the  previous night start to pop back into his mind. He realizes that he has to try, he has to find out  what emotions he has. Hesitantly, he turns on his phone and goes to message the first girl in his  journal. “Hey, how have you been?” His heart was palpitating, but shortly after his heart slows  and he collects his thoughts. “What if I never get a reply?” he thought to himself. However. he  realizes he made an effort and even if his effort results in nothing, he was satisfied for now.  

Shaniya--Switch

“Are you happy with the way things are Cindy? Underestimated, put down, and disrespected? You’re twenty-three years old and still sleeping on your mother’s couch. You’re unemployed, irresponsible, and unreliable. You are a failure. Do you really believe that you could survive in this world without me? You’re weak! You need me Cindy, we both know that. Let me be strong for you, you know you can’t deal with these obstacles that you have been given. Your life is so pitiless; I might as well just take it...” “No! Just shut up! You don’t know anything about me! I may not have my life together just yet but that doesn’t mean I’m a failure. I don’t need you. Things will get better, I know they will, I-I’ll get a job and start making new friends. I’ll make some changes. I can do it, I know I can.” “Awe, trying to yourself Cindy? That’s cute. I’m afraid I already made my choice. I’ve waited long enough, watching, rotting, and learning from your ignorant mistakes. You take life for granted my dear, and that’s why you’re in this predicament now. It will never get better for you. It only gets worse from here. “N-no you’re lying. Things will get better, I promise… I promised… No I won’t fall victim to you anymore, I’m not weak. I will not need you anymore. This is goodbye, for good.” “I doubt that. At this moment Cindy reached for her neck and gasped for air. It was as if her air supply was stolen from her. During this lung-crushing, eye-watering, and throat-drying attack she tried standing but she couldn’t walk. Her legs wouldn’t move. She lay on the dark black ground in a ball while trying to catch the remaining breaths she had. Through all the pain she looked up and saw this beautiful woman dressed in a gorgeous red dress, something Cindy would never be able to look good wearing. She had long luscious black lock flowing down her back and bright red lipstick on. She wore red bottom heels and had a slit at the bottom of the dress. She’d never seen this woman before but there was something familiar about her, and why was she there, inside of Cindy’s head? “I told you I made my choice,” Said the woman. “It’s my turn now.” As the woman walk through the darkness of Cindy’s mind, toward a door of light, she glanced back at Cindy crunched up on the floor and smiled devilishly.

September Writers

The September Writers have been posted to the blog.

I know it is October 1st and we are reading for the month of September.  That's all right.

There are nine pieces for this month.  Please read ALL of them and leave your helpful and thoughtful comments for four of them.  You will have one week to complete this assignment.  Your comments are due Friday, October 9.

If you are a writer this month, write comments for only two pieces.

Scroll down and begin reading or you can use the tabs on the left:)

Have fun!!!

Camille

It was Valentine's Day. Of course I was alone because my girlfriend of two years, Loraine, dumped me last month because I didn't get here anything for her birthday. She was so beautiful and nice and down to earth. She had nice light brown hair. She had hazel eyes and was very tan. She had perfect teeth and a perfect smile. I was in love with her so I was completely devastated when she dumped me. I thought it was going to be one of those break up then back together within 24 hours but no she was for real. She lost interest and moved on and has another boyfriend. The night she dumped me I did some crazy drugs and knocked out...

    The next day I walked into my favorite coffee shop and saw a beautiful girl. I saw there was an open seat right next to her so I sat next to her. "Hi do you mind if I sit here?" "Of course not, I'm Rosemary what's your name?" "I'm Tyde." She smiled and went on with what she was doing. I took out my laptop from my backpack and began typing. I glanced at Rosemary a few times because she was so beautiful. Her long dark brown hair, green eyes and tan skin. After about 20 minutes, Rosemary had to go. She packed up all her things and said, "It was nice meeting you!" with a really big smile on her face.  "It was nice meeting you as well!" I said nervously.

A few days went by and I went to the coffee shop every day and never saw Rosemary ever again. On Friday, I went to a concert with my best buds. We got there two hours early so we didn't have to wait in that long of a line. Once we got into the line there was a tall blonde girl right in front of us with a few of her friends. From what I could see her hair was exactly like Rosemary's. After about an hour waiting in line most of the people in the line sat down. The blonde haired girl started a conversation with us. There was something strange going on because I could've sworn that the blonde haired girl looks exactly like Rosemary. I asked the blonde girl what her name was, she said “Hunter.” I started talking to the Hunter to find out some information about her and compared it to what I knew about Rosemary. We had talked for about ten minutes then they started letting people into the venue. We ended up switching seats with people that sat next to the group of girls so we could all hang out and rock out. After the concert was over and everyone was heading towards the exit I was looking around and the group of girls were still with us but I couldn’t find Hunter.

    A few weeks after the concert, a few of my buds threw a Super Bowl party. The Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks were playing and most of the people at the party were Seahawk fans. I was wearing my favorite Seahawk’s attire, which was just a Seahawk’s jersey and some pants. There was one girl at the party that was wearing a Seahawks shirt that was completely bejeweled. She was a red head and had a lot of freckles. She had perfect teeth kind of like Hunter's. She was tall and about 5'9. We ended up sitting next to each other on the couch. We exchanged a few words during the commercials. Her name was Jasmine and it turns out she's a lot like Hunter and Rosemary. That's so crazy, finding three people in a row that are almost exactly alike. When the game was over and the Packers had won, unfortunately, everyone got up and said goodbye. I looked around to find Jasmine but she'd also disappeared. It was Deja Vu. Every girl I met disappeared.

    A few months had passed. I woke up and I was in a hospital for some reason. Loraine was in the room, she was sitting down in a chair reading. I was hooked up to so many machines. I started to freak out. I wanted to know why I was hooked up to so many machines. Loraine got up and started crying, she tried to calm me down while screaming at the top of her lungs for a nurse. A few nurses came in the room and took a few tests. Loraine was calling my friends and family in her seat with a few tears coming down her face. I asked Loraine why I was in the hospital. She told me I had overdosed and slipped into a coma for 5 month. She found me passed out on my apartment floor the next day. I was appalled. About 30 minutes later my family and friends came into the hospital room they looked so happy to see me. I knew I was loved by so many people but one person stood out to me the most. The day I got released from the hospital I asked Loraine to get dinner with me. At the end of dinner when we were sharing a slice of red velvet cheesecake I got down on one knee and held Loraine's right hand. "Loraine I love you. I never stopped loving you. Especially when I was in a coma. All I could think about was you. Every girl I saw was a variation of you. You came back for me and found me on the floor and cared enough to call 911 and you stayed with me in the hospital almost every day. I love you. Will you marry me?" Everyone in the restaurant was looking at us. "Yes!" She finally said. We both jumped up and hugged each other and I put the ring on her finger.

Lexi--Dennis and Daisy

                                                       Dennis and Daisy

Stuck

Dennis: “Do you every look up at the sky and think your belly button smells like cheese
wiz?”

Hi, my name is Daisy Debuke. Dennis Delaro is my boyfriend. He has a charming smile,
hair that fuzzes up like a Q-tip when it dries, and always knows how to make me smile.
This ability to make me smile, however, comes with random comments like this one.

Me: “Why must your charm be so endearing? And yet you cannot treat any moment with
a fraction of seriousness.”

My country requires all children, ages 17-18, to be thrown into an arena with blood
thirsty wolves, treacherous landscape, and billions of people trying to kill you. The only
way to get out of the arena, is to die. There is no drawing to decide who steps into the
arena, no volunteers to step in for you. I have reached the age where it is my turn to
step into the arena.
Okay, so maybe it’s not a death arena, but it is terrifying and sudden and every child’s
nightmare. The name even more horrific, the real world.
They cushion the blow of “real life” with this fuzzy imaginary one that you live in until it’s
your turn to step onto the playing field. Teachers, parents, relatives (all adults really)
always say, “Oh, just you wait until real life hits you. You’ll be in for a real surprise!” And
yet, though they have control of our so called pre-life, they continue to let us sit in the
blurry, intermission of a life we are living in.
I have expressed these accounts to Dennis on several occasions, sulking in my
disproval of the system. He, however, does not look at the remainder of our eternity as a
series of death traps. His light hearted whimsy lets every problem roll right off like a
bead of water sliding down a green leaf in the early morning. The water seeps down into
the soil to effect everyone else, but it does not stick to him.
I wish I had the naive perspective to approach the world in this manner, but to my
despair, I do not. My first mission in this arena of death is referred to by a great majority
of the population as “college”. College comes with all sorts of complicated add on
features like locations, new people, new problems, and let’s not forget the ever
wonderful debt liable to haunt you well into your rocking chair stage.
I feel so stuck in this perpetual, fuzzy, imaginary, high school world that I cannot even
begin to fathom this “college” topic. I need to get away from this fuzz, surpass the smog
layer and somehow find air that is clean enough to breath, find air that will help me
realize where I’m supposed to be.
I am leaving tomorrow. Packing up my four wheel, carry on sized bag, and going away. I
am going to find the place I’m supposed to be, even if it means finding a thousand
places I’m not.

Departure Day

I open my email from the subway after arriving in New York from flight 172 departed
from LAX. I click the little pen and paper symbol in the top right corner of my screen and
begin to write.

Dear Mom, Dad, and Dennis,
I am sorry I left without saying goodbye. There was nothing any of you did wrong, no
school bullies, no sexual offenders I’m running away from. Most importantly, there is no
need to worry.
I was not even sure why I left until I took off. Then it hit me.
The lights began to wiz by, faster, faster, faster, until the air caught under the wings
thrusting you upward, like a parent pushing a child on a swing. Now you are the child in
the swing, cheering with glee as the thrust propels you off the ground and into a world
apart from your own. The plane takes off, turning the once ordinarily perceived ground
into an infinitely starry sky. All the reality of below shrinking to specks. All the problems
of below fade into a blur of passing towns, only represented by their grid like lights.
Every passing cluster takes you farther away from the place you left behind and towards
the one your supposed to be. This is the new beginning you have been seeking. Here it
is, sitting on metal wings and an engine, with less than satisfactory snacks. Your ears
may pop and you may hit turbulence, but nonetheless it's here, and it's now.
I will see you all soon.
Love,
Daisy Debuke
Send.