Voices in Your Head

Now this doesn’t apply to everyone, but I think it’s fair to say a majority of us live with little nagging voices in our head. Sometimes it’s the ‘second-guesser’. The one who asks, “Shoot, did I turn the oven off? Did I close the garage door? Am I totally sure I did my work correctly?” That voice can nag and nag day in and day out but it’s useful in some ways. Then there’s the ‘self-hater’. This one tells you the nasty little things we all hate to hear, “I can’t wear that, I can’t do this, I’m so stupid, I’ll never get a date with him/her.”

What Modern Relationships Are Missing

So you’ve found someone you want to be with long term. They make your heart speed up, the butterflies take flight in your stomach and your face brighten at just the thought of them. You’re physically connected and things are just perfect. But then the months draw on, suddenly time is threatening to fly by at a speed that makes your head spin. The flaws start to creep up. You push each other’s buttons to the point of madness. At times you may walk away from a fight thinking you can’t do this anymore. You think that this person isn’t meant for you and you were so stupid to think they were in the first place. How the hell could you marry someone like that?!

Stop.

I’m Not a Flake Just an Introvert

Do you have a friend or relative that seems to always struggle with attending your parties, get-togethers, barbecues, etc? Do they make a face when you mention plans to organize a group dinner and you request their attendance? Do they tend to bail on weekend plans with you? For the love of all things holy, don’t get offended and don’t get too upset. That friend/relative may just be an Introvert.

We’re not lazy, malicious or even unfriendly. We don’t intentionally make plans in order to break them. And no we don’t secretly hate you. We’re just too damn tired mostly. Not always physically tired though, it’s more of an emotional exhaustion. Imagine you’re a ball of energy. Every night you charge up. You get bright and you’re cheerful and bouncy, ready to take on the day like a boss.

My Boyfriend Has ADD

Most people think that ADD is something kids outgrow or it’s just a term applied to those who are “spazzes” that can’t focus. For many people this just isn’t true. ADD is hard. It’s hard to have and sometimes it’s hard to live with. I’ve been with my boyfriend for 6 years and he has ADD.

Keeping it Inside and Sick of It

Most of us have had those moments where we felt so hurt, mad or frustrated that we wanted to take a baseball bat to a few windows and/or faces. While we all deal with these situations differently, those of us who choose to keep it inside may be putting ourselves at risk. It’s a notion that isn’t brought up often but there is a scientific link between how we feel and how we feel physically.

A Love Affair…With Writing

As a preteen I began to fall in love with the notion of writing my own story. I had always loved reading and I guarded my collection of books with as much ferocity as I could. Everytime my mother got an itch to clean out the house I knew it was a matter of time before she made it to my bookshelf. We would argue endlessly about what I had to donate and what I could keep. She actually thought I could choose which books to give up!

“What about giving up the ones you read a long time ago?” she’d prompt.

“I re-read all of them though… a lot,” I’d sigh, knowing she wouldn’t understand.

Pride in the Little Big Things

One of the many lovely perks of being a student again is constantly carrying around a backpack. I’ve had the same backpack since I started my undergrad so to say that I make things last is an understatement. With any luck this backpack will make it through 3 years of graduate school and get me to the other side intact. It doesn’t just help me lug around papers, a computer and books though, it’s also a conversation starter.

So Long, Farewell

The Hug by Shashank Shekhar

 

“Here we are,” Cynthia tapped the steering wheel with one finger, her anxiety building. Her daughter eager to sprint from the car, bag and dreams in hand. Yet Cynthia’s heart quivered at the sight of so much excited abandon. Their sideways hug lingered. DNA was breaking off once more. Goodbye.

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Hey all! Wrote this shorty in response to the DP Weekly Writing Challenge. I simply loved it! It was hard picking the right words and hard to end it right at 50 but WOOO what a challenge. Can’t wait to experiment with super short bits like this some more =)

The Others

Mercy lay as still as her body would let her. As frail and easily snuffed out as that body was it was a gift nonetheless. The new sheets she had just put on her bed were soft but smelled foreign, like plastic really. Mercy hated the smell of plastic. She allowed a subtle turn of her head so her nose could bury itself into her shoulder and inhale a familiar scent.

The rain pounding away on the roof only added to her sense of comfort. It was a hard and steady rain, her favorite. When it came down like that, the sound of a constant downpour created a sort of white noise that Mercy liked to imagine is what her mother’s womb had sounded like. Not loud and grainy like TV static or the harsh tones of an empty radio channel.

Clutter

There are clothes everywhere in my room. On the floor, on my bed, on the hamper (as opposed to in it) and on the dryer. There’s probably an even mixture at this point of clean and dirty clothes. Also scattered around are dog toys, bits of paper, odds and ends, DVDs, and books! Oh the books with no home to call their own!

For a week now I’ve been wading through the mess every day to get dressed, go to bed, to basically function. At first it didn’t bother me. In fact I rather enjoyed it in some ways. There was a freeing quality to leaving it so messy. As if my life had just exploded all over the place. I told myself I didn’t have the time, that I was always rushing in and out of the house so it didn’t matter. It made me feel like I finally have a life in this new town and that filled me with a strange pleasure.