Category: Junior Literary

Sometimes other people can create a whole different identity about you, broadcast it to the world, and before you know it people have this perception of you that you never knew existed. Some may say this might be a good thing if it’s a positive perception. However, I say that this could never be a good thing because this false perception is not you… it is just an illusion. This false perception could also be dangerous because, of course, negative perceptions. I know that this is no shocker and, sometimes, it may slip our minds; but people will flat-and straight-up lie on your name. I have seen it happen plenty of times, but you know what the real shocker is that 80 percent of the time it’s your own friends. 

(someone play “What about your friends” by TLC)

“Friends” …let’s talk about that word and what it means to me. Now, you know I have to pull up the receipts: According to the Cambridge dictionary, the noun means.

1. A person you know well and like a lot, but who is usually not a member of your family.

2. Someone who is not an enemy and who you can trust.

Now, personally, what a friend means to me is someone I can confide in and trust that they will not tell anyone about my business. Also, a friend is someone I can count on to be there for me when I need them to be. I don’t know about y’all, but I have always had trouble in the friend category– particular in the best friend department. I guess you could blame it on how I was raised. My mamma always told me to be mindful of my surroundings and the people I surround myself with. So I am always skeptical about people by the energy they give off, what they say or do and especially the little things. So when I get the sense that someone I hang around is sketchy and/or coming off fake.

I automatically start separating myself from them, because the last thing I need is negative people and their toxic energy infecting in my life when I’m trying to thrive to become the best person I can be! (I recently dedicated a blog post to cutting off toxic people so check it out, if you haven’t already.)

All in all, what I’m trying to say is… be mindful and observant about the people you call your friends. You never know the person you call your best friend might just be your best enemy.

I’m pretty sure that everyone had a go to childhood game that they would play significantly more than others (If you don’t, I’m so sorry). Well for me, that was Mario kart. It was like my best friend and my mom’s worst enemy because what better way to procrastinate your responsibilities than play Mario kart? Exactly. there is no better way. Anyways, my mom got really tired of telling me to “stop playing stupid video games and do my chores/ homework”. It was kind of rude, but I didn’t take it personally because I know she was just upset– and people don’t think very logically when they’re upset, so I would pretend not to hear her and continue playing. she began to hate the game very quickly for that reason though:(

REASON #1: Mario Kart teaches how to be a cautious and skilled driver.

Before driving on real roads, I drove on the professional roads of the game that only the best of the best can survive on. You learn to avoid shells, banana peels, and other characters that don’t know how to drive (you have to avoid those people on the roads in real life too).  There are a lot of obstacles that you have to overcome in the game, and while you most likely won’t be driving on a rainbow road in space, It really prepares you for the hard driving every driver is going to have to face at some point or another.

REASON #2: Mario Kart enforces patience.

Incase you don’t know, this game can be very stressful. You can go from 1st to last place all due to the unlikeliness of falling off the edge of the road and dying. And then right when you’re set back on the track, you get hit with like 4 shells, shrunken, run over, and fall off again. Due to these very unfortunate circumstances, many people lose their tempers with the game and may possibly break their controller and/or tv over it. That’s a bit extreme, but it can, and does happen. (not that I would know…) And that’s where my theory comes in to play: Mario Kart teaches patience, a virtue everyone needs to learn one way or another. Me personally- I think this game is truly the best way to learn it. You have to learn not to get overly mad when a slight inconvenience in the game takes place so you don’t break your controllers. It took me years to master, but I can now stay perfectly calm when someone runs me off the road (in the game of course), or does any other manner of harassment to where I am no longer in 1st place.  Also, I’m just a patient person for the most part, and I really think Mario Kart has contributed to that.

REASON #3: Mario Kart bonds you closer with people.

I understand that this is a blog post that appeals to factual ideations and not emotion; however, this is a very important and positive side effect of playing this game. You can be playing Mario Kart with someone you don’t even know and all of a sudden, you both die together. (Once again- in the game of course.) It’s such a heartbreaking occurrence to fall in the water of that one place, or the dark abyss of another, which can automatically give you something to understand together. One minuet, you didn’t even know the person, the next, you’re crying with each other out of frustration. One of the quickest way to make friends and find empathy for each other.

I would like to thank my 2 main inspirations for this post: Leah (my sister), and Lauren (my cousin.) Thanks for always playing Mario Kart with me even though I always win. I’m sure that’s frustrating.

thanks for reading:)

 

 

 

I feel as if the most universal question in the world is “why?” (inserts mini dialogue)

Y/N: Why do you dress like that?

Y/N: Why do you care?

Y/N: Why do you want to know?

Y/N: Why do you not want me to know?

From my award-winning dialogue skills, you can clearly see what my point is. The question “why?” is used so often, I don’t think people truly realize how often they use it. “Why” is one of the words that you just have to know. It’s as useful as “the,” “as,” & “and.” Without this word, many conversations wouldn’t incite. This word is clearly one of the most important word known to man. This word has impacted me in a big way recently. I was in my bed one day, scrolling mindlessly through my three favorite apps (twitter, Instagram, and snapchat of course because I am the typical socialite teenager…) and I was wondering to myself, “why do I do this everyday?” which of course led to me having a long period of reflection over my life. I had millions of questions running through my head. Some questions I rather not say out of fear of being completely stupid (despite of questions never being stupid…I’m being sarcastic here if you couldn’t tell.) Some questions that I will share with you all are more on the rational side of things and can actually be answered or at least given an appropriate amount of time to think over:

“Why am I so addicted to my phone?”

“Why were these apps created?”

“Why do I spend so much time on these three specific aapps?”

“Why don’t I have the energy to do any thing else?”

Why does my phone make me so idle?”

All these questions ran through my mind and it was almost like a switch flipped in me. I realized that I am addicted to my phone. As I took more notice of this, I saw the symptoms of my addiction. For the sake of being clear, I’ll list them for you.

1. My impulse to check my phone every 3 minutes
2. My lingering stare on my phone whenever I’m not on it
3. I constantly have to have my phone with me
4. The first and last thing I do everyday is look at my phone
5. I sometimes kiss my phone when it is super close to my face

Now I know that last one is a bit outrageous, but who am I to lie to you guys? I try to be as honest as I possibly can with you guys and if you say don’t peck your phone for treating you so good from time to time…you’re lying! (ok maybe you don’t but to those who do…I completely understand)

With the new ios 13 update, you can see how long you are on your phone each day. Last week I averaged a usage of 9 hours and 8 minutes each day last week. That is a lot you guys! That’s almost all of the time of the 12 hours I’m awake! I felt so bad over these numbers and I’m determined to get them down. Thank you to apple for being my biggest problem, but also helping with my solution! I’m trying to spend less time on my phone and focus more on the things in life outside my phone. Maybe this will help with the crook in my neck from looking down so much LOL! But for real you guys…look at how much time your spending on your phone. If you are one of those people who can live without your phone, kudos to you BUT if your anything like me…we need to strive to do better!

I hope you enjoyed my little quest with the question “why?” and how it has changed the way I interact with my phone. It’ll be hard for me, but I’m determined to let go of my bad habits with this phone! Hope this has helped anybody under your phones captivating spell…

 

 

Well people, it’s like a week away from Thanksgiving. That means 3 things. One, auditions for MSA have reopened(wow, it’s full circle). In other words, get busy on your application if you are an aspiring MSA student. Two, we get a whole week away from school(that I will probably get bored of, and end up spending my time doing school work). Three, it’s time for a blog post about what I’m thankful for(woooo). So here we go:

1. My dog: Wow, I miss my dog so much. Her name is Luna and she’s a mix of a Yorkie/Shih Tzu/Pomeranian. She is so freaking fluffy, and I can’t wait to see her this weekend. When I first got her, she was so sleepy all the time. Then she became extremely hyper, but now she has mellowed out. She makes me happy.
2. Mellow Mushroom: I cannot express how grateful I am for your vegan cheese option for pizzas. Whenever I go back home, I always want to eat there. I am hoping I can go again this Thanksgiving Break. Speaking of food, I’ll throw Apron Strings in there too because it’s a lovely vegan bakery. I’m hungry, can you tell?
3. Music: Oh, how I love you. Music is such a comfort throughout my day. It’s ever-changing, and helps my mood. It’s just a wonderful thing that has always been there for me.
4. My friends: Aw, I love you guys. You have helped me discover who I am, and have supported me along the way. When I am upset, you guys always tend to cheer me up every time. 
5. My mom: First of all, thank you. Thank you for allowing me to be me. Thank you for encouraging me to go after my passions. Thank you for supporting me in every aspect. Thank you for the hugs on rough days. Thank you for voicemails/calls asking how I am. Just, thank you for being who you are. 
6. For the end of this semester: Ew, I am so ready to be out of these classes. Although, next semester’s classes are going to be awful. So really, it’s a lose lose situation. I’m just thankful that I made it through almost to the end. Also, the end of the semester means Experience MSA Day. I look forward to that.

Of course I have many other things I am thankful for, but that will take forever to name. So for now, these are the things that are on my mind. I encourage you to also think about what you are thankful for. Perhaps, even comment someone/thing you would like to thank. Have a Happy Thanksgiving 🙂

 

The post I so vaguely told you guys in my last post isn’t ready. I sort of put it on paused simply because I need to be in a certain mindset and environment  to write it. It doesn’t make sense now, but please bare with me.  I often have trouble writing things when I’m not in the mindset to write it. I have to be in a specific mood or environment. In this case, I need to be in both. I’ve been so worried about school and grades that I haven’t had a chance to sit and write this post for you all. I want it to be good and not rushed, so I will leave you guys with a piece of mine. I wrote this one day out of boredom. It hasn’t been touched or workshopped ever. I have only seen this piece, but now you guys will see it too! I promise to have the long-awaited post in after thanksgiving! If I don’t I owe you a dollar! Enjoy!

(Let me know if I should workshop this piece! Any suggestions or comments LEAVE BELOW!)

 

Welcome to the party

The blood pumping through my veins have a pulsating rhythm
A steady tempo with the occasional crescendo as the music runs through my ears
The sweat pours down my face and pools around my neck
I furiously wipe my forehead as I jump faster in tune with the beat of the music
The hot, sweaty bodies continue to merge closer and closer as the fluorescent lights cut on
The laser lights spread across my face giving me a shiny red cast on my body
I sway my hips and move my lips to the lyrics of the music

Free.

The beats get slower and more sensual
I look around and see the obvious couples stare at each other with lust in their eyes
The energy in the room grows as gravity pulls us together
Is it lust in his eyes? Desire?
I sway my hips a little bit faster now
We’re close now
His glazed eyes take me in as he raises an eager hand to my hips
We start to move in sync
The music starts to get slower and slower
The rest of the room fades into oblivion
It’s just us now
I’m his now

Captured.

My heart beats faster as we get closer
His grip gets tighter on my waist as if he doesn’t want to let me go
I don’t want him to let me go
My body responds quickly to his
I get hotter and hotter but there’s no sweat anymore
The beats fill my body and it fills him too
I feel every inch of him as he feels every inch of me
We are one

His.

His light brown eyes lock with mine as the people fade back into our view
His lips move but I can’t see or hear the words he is saying
The feel of his smooth, dark skin suddenly isn’t on my body anymore
As I slowly walked away from him, he starts to disappear slowly allowing me to take in every part of him until the last thing I see is his eyes staring back at me
He’s gone

Awakened

I sit up drenched in sweat
My heart beat imitates the beat of a marching band
I look around confused and in a daze
He wasn’t real
As I lay back down, I remember the look in his eyes before he faded away
He wasn’t real⸺but it felt so real
I close my eyes and try to remember every detail about him
I slowly drift back into a dreamless sleep
When I awaken the next morning I can’t remember him
He wasn’t real.

this is one of my absolute favorite pieces by Rupi Kaur. you can find it in her book “milk and honey”.

to do list (after the breakup):

1. take refuge in your bed.
2. cry. till the tears stop (this will take a few days).
3. don’t listen to slow songs.
4. delete their number from your phone even though it is memorized on your fingertips.
5. don’t look at old photos.
6. find the closest ice cream shop and treat yourself to two scoops of mint chocolate chip. the mint will calm your heart. you deserve the chocolate.
7. buy new bed sheets.
8. collect all the gifts, t-shirts, and everything with their smell on it and drop it off at a donation center.
9. plan a trip.
10. perfect the art of smiling and nodding when someone brings their name up in conversation.
11. start a new project.
12. whatever you do. do not call.
13. do not beg for what does not want to stay.
14. stop crying at some point.
15. allow yourself to feel foolish for believing you could’ve built the rest of your life in someone else’s stomach.
16. breathe.

this piece really spoke to me during a difficult and confusing time in my life. maybe you’re not going through a break- up, but a hard time in your life. some of these still apply to you. I love the simplicity and how focused it is on recovery and healing.

should i start doing stuff like this more often? i feel like my blogs are all over the place honestly, lol. everyone else has a theme to theirs but mine is super sporadic and random. send help. i literally never know what to write about until i get this super random idea from pinterest or instagram.

peace out girl scout 🙂

Here it is… the moment you’ve all been waiting for: the continuation of my fashion series 🙂

Due scheduling complications, I could not get Emmie Legget, but I found another style icon’s closet to dive into: Stephyne Weathersby. I met up with Weathersby and asked her to tell her inspiration behind the clothing she wears in some of her iconic Instagram photos.

“That outfit, actually, I was supposed to wear that to school then I missed my bus, and so, I just took some Instagram pictures. Um, the pair of pants are thrifted… I was in Biloxi and I got them from a thrift store… Goodwill, I think. And they were actually, like, 3 times my size, so I had to alter my pants.”

Similar to my fashion, Weathersby thrifts and upcycles a lot of her clothes, as well. Except, she can sew. She explained to me that many of her clothes are too big, but she takes them in or alters them to fit her body. Personally, I’d love to  go thrifting with her. I would really love to see what her process is when thrifting and upcycling her clothes to create these bomb ensembles.

She continues debunking her outfit saying, “That shirt is *NSYNC… I got that from Forever 21, that actually was a plus size shirt, so I just took it in. I don’t know, I just love big clothes on me. I didn’t really have inspiration, but, um, the color scheme, actually, you see like how… the navy blue fits with the white and now, I know you can’t really see it, but like, the shirt has blue writing, y’know. The color scheme just fit a theme.

“That was when I went to Jamaica, and I really wanted to go for a little island girl type style, so that’s why I paired the tube top, which I got from Romwe, and my, um, flair pants, which I got from Old Navy, I believe. I really wanted to feel native to the land, even though I really wasn’t. I didn’t look like nobody there, but y’know, I just really felt comfortable wearing it. My inspiration was just an island girl and free like the wind.”

“My birthday outfit, yeah. Actually, I wanted to go for, like, a little different style. I wanted to go for, like, really delicate and kinda a goddess, type thing, but like— not goddess, that’s the wrong thing. Just really delicate and sweet and soft, y’know. That’s why I paired the bell bottoms with the crop, the cropped shirt. That was my inspiration. And y’know, then with the YSL, because I knew I was not gonna be wearing the same purse for my seventeenth birthday.”

“Oh, yeah. I was on a cruise ship at a captain’s dinner, so we had to dress formally. I just liked how it paired together. It’s a two piece, and my inspiration was just that we had to look nice. We had to show out. I wanted to pop out, but not be too much.”

---

I hope that you guys are enjoying this fashion as much as I’m having fun creating it. Have a safe, happy, and blessed Thanksgiving!

 

Society has a lot of unfair expectations. From the way we should look, to the things we should do, and to the way we should dress and act. It’s almost impossible to be confident with everything telling you “you’re doing it all wrong. ” I’m dressing wrong. I’m not acting the way I should. I don’t agree with the things I should agree with. It’s exhausting trying to meet all the expectations people have in order to feel accepted. I used to find it so difficult to find happiness in myself because the constant weight of the worlds idea for ‘wrong’ was holding me back from finding who I wanted to be.  Or how I wanted to dress, look, act, and in general, just live my life.

This past coffee house, I was on program and I wrote a poem for the theme “Metaphysicality.” The way it was described to me was: something somewhere it doesn’t belong.  I chose to write about perfection in reality, because these expectations of being perfect or having a perfect life are so unrealistic and the truth is, perfection will never belong in a world such as this one. And that’s a beautiful thing to me because personally, I don’t find perfection beautiful– I find it delusional. Anyways, here’s my poem:

They live with unconditional happiness everyday. 

Looking around at their life, 

and not one thing is wrong. 

Bright smiles presented all around them-

Even on the ones they love. 

Their family all sleeps in the same caring house,

Saying “goodnight”, and “I love you”,

Before they rest their eyes 

That have never shed a tear.  

And every peaceful morning, they wake up 

To the sun shining

In their room that only holds 

Good memories of better times that 

Keep getting better as they live their perfect life. 

 

But eventually, their smiles fade

Into sadness that pours out of their eyes. 

And their family stops caring 

And saying “goodnight”

Before they turn off the pointless lights

That can’t keep them out of darkness. 

And as they live their perfect life, 

It becomes less perfect. 

Because perfection doesn’t belong in reality. 

 

I used to wish that I looked perfect. That I had no flaws. I used to hope to have a perfect life. I used to be so blinded by my hope for something that doesn’t exist, that I never found beauty in what does. Luckily, I stopped looking for perfection in things and started loving things the way they are.

Have a good day:)

 

 The Oxford Dictionary definition of the word success is the fact that you have achieved something that you want and have been trying to do or get; the fact of becoming rich or famous or of getting a high social position.

So we are in November now and I have been at the Mississippi School of the Arts for almost a full semester. I have accomplished already so many of the goals that I set prior to being here. That makes me very ecstatic because one of my main reasons for going here was to grow, and every day I see myself growing and changing. I can only hope it is for the better.

I recently had a conversation with some friends of mine, Kailey Butler and Jericala’keisha Brown both dancers at MSA.

Kailey posed the question, “If you were able to see in the future on a device, would you?”

At first, my immediate answer was, “no, because I wouldn’t want to know my future if I can’t change it. What would be the reason?”

Now, looking back on the question, I have become really curious about how my future is going to turn out. I mean every since I was a young girl I thought about my future and I knew I wanted to be successful. But what really is success? Is it abstract or concrete? Can we reach out and grab success or is it only a feeling we store in our brain? Is success determine by how much money is in our bank account or how many people we impact in our lifetime? Is success having your name screamed and admired by thousands as you walk across a stage or is being knowledge for your work in your local community? Is success measured on how many awards you received or how many likes and comments you can get on an Instagram post?

We all have different definitions that define our own interpretation of the word success. I believe that there are also different levels of success, and I’m sure you have your own opinion about that. So why as humans are we so worried about becoming successful, or making a name for ourselves. Why have we, the people of society, place so much pressure on ourselves to be “successful” when we truly don’t understand what that word means. I mean let me rephrase that.Why do I put so much pressure on myself to become successful when I don’t know what that world means for myself? Because in reality the only human I need please with my decisions I make in my life, is me. I believe knowing who you are and what you stand for is really detrimental in your development as a person. As the saying goes, “If you don’t stand for nothing, you can fall anything.”

So, I say this to you and myself because I want us to recognize who we truly are, and what kind of person we want to become. Also what kind of impact that we want to leave on this world as an artist. Even though times may get hard, and we may get discouraged just remember to keep your head up along the way. Life is not easy and your goals won’t be either but just keep in mind, success is what you make it.

Some motivational and feel good videos in case you get discourage because I know it happens.

Hi, this is a poem I wrote a few weeks ago! I hope you like it!

Hello, Old Friend. Do you remember me? 
You seem to have captured my thoughts recently.
Do you ever think of me?
Do you ever think of the nights spent dreaming and
Planning for a tomorrow?
Do you remember the songs we sang as the rain broke 
Through the window pane and kissed our cheeks?
I do.
 
You know, some nights I dream about you.
It’s nothing too crazy or wild, but I’ll dream of you.
We’ll be somewhere that I don’t remember but
Can’t forget and we’ll be doing something minute,
But there would be this free wind, this whisper of
The past, blowing through your hair. Your eyes would
Have that look in them that conveyed so much but
Said practically nothing. And you’d emit such a laugh
That could bring the world to a knee. 
 
But then I’d wake up. Those are the saddest, I think. 
The nights when everything you wanted visits
You with a resounding disappointment. 
We were so young and dumb and willing to forget
Our futures for something so fleeting.
If you could go back in time, would you?
Would you come with me to a time where our
Only concern was each other?
 
This might sound a bit selfish, but I see you every once
In a while. You’ll be with your wife and your daughter and
You’ll look so genuinely happy. And my heart shatters
With the thought that I, once upon a time, was the only
Person that knew how beautiful your smile truly was.
Now, she knows our secret. She knows the innermost
Parts of your soul that only revealed themselves after
Nights spent on rooftops and in quiet retreats into the night.
Now, she knows our secrets.
 
I’m sorry. I’ve bombarded you with overanalyzed
emotional secrets. How is your life going, Old Friend?
Are you happy? With her? Are you satisfied with the
Life that has chosen you? 
I hope you are.