Category: Junior Literary

Happy Black History Month to all! This year, I have found myself drowning in different poems and quotes that show some form of tribute to the “African-American community” to celebrate this month. For example, one of my Poetry Out Loud pieces:

BLK History Month by Nikki Giovanni

If black history month is not viable, then wind does not drop the seed and carry them on fertile ground. Rain does not dampen the land and encourage the seeds to root. Sun does not warm the earth and kiss the seedlings and tell them plain. You’re As Good As Anybody Else. You’ve Got A Place Here, Too.

The simple comparisons in this poem make the point she is trying to make so bold. I absolutely love it. Every morning, as soon as I wake up, I find a quote that I can go to throughout the day to help me to make it through. Here are a few:

“I consider myself a crayon… I may not be your favorite color but one day you’ll need me to complete your picture.” -Lauryn Hill

“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.” -Booker T. Washington

“I didn’t learn to be quiet when I had an opinion. The reason they knew who I was is because I TOLD THEM.” -Ursula Burns

“The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.” -Malcolm X

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change we seek.” -Barack Obama

And the one I have chosen for today is…

“The arts are not just a nice thing to have or to do if there is free time or if one can afford it. Rather, paintings and poetry, muscle and fashion, design and dialogue, they all define who we are as people and provide an account of our history for the next generation.” -Michelle Obama

I can’t speak for anyone else, but I know these are some great motivation to start and end my day. To know that there are still people who care and appreciate the lives of black people puts a huge smile on my face.

Oh, I almost forgot… MY BIRTHDAY IS THIS MONTH!!!!
So, if you see me on February 28th, if it won’t cause you a problem, tell your boy HAPPY BIRTHDAY, please. K, thanks. LOL!

hung by a single word

not a feeling

or a kiss

tied together by a sole emotion

no touch

forbidden

if you be my fruit

then I’ll be your tree

you’ll bloom from me

and I will stay healthy for you

my veins are roots

and your heart is an apple

what is that word that separates us?

i forget

i always forget

until you are picked rudely from my branch

and I am immobile

I may do nothing to stop it

I cannot move

You reassure me as you are bitten into

all that work to make you ripe

to be eaten to your core

---

 

 

Every time they numb me up at the dentists office, I have the same hallucination. This has been happening for years, and I’m not sure on whether or not I should be concerned.

My trip to the dentists usually goes like this.

I walk to the front desk madly sobbing about any events that will soon take place. If you dob nonstop for at least half an hour, you’ll already be very numb by the time you’re in there.

Then, once my name is called, I go in, and they hook me up with this pig-nose looking thing. They call it “laughing gas” but i call it the scent of a 2007 justice store. Its super hard to breathe in, So I breathe through my mouth until they catch me doing that. Then i breathe through my nose.

After I’ve ascended into another dimension, they come over and say something about numbing shots. At that point, with over an hour of odd fumes being pumped into your body,and sobbing wildly, you’re too numb to even feel number. By that logic, you wont even feel the shot they’re about to put in your mouth.

This is where the hallucinations begin.

In my reoccurring hallucination, a table will appear next to mine, with this lady dentist attempting to have a conversation with her patient. The little girl will talk about her sister going to Disney, and the fact that she is going to chic-fil-a after her dental work is over. this same conversation will repeat, but every time it repeats, it speeds up and overlaps itself. eventually my vision goes gray and its nothing but fast paced talking. At first, I thought the woman and little girl were real. but then five or so years later, they still kept showing up. They never aged. Their conversation never changed, and I’m pretty sure its that nitrous-oxide causing these hallucinations.

 

Am I crazy? do you guys hallucinate at the dentists office as well? If so, let me know what you hallucinate, and if it occurs on a regular basis.

I believe in fate. Maybe we are all meant to be exactly where we are and every moment that we live is life-changing. Maybe we are each fated to certain events, decisions, people. I believe that if it is meant to happen then it will happen. There are a lot of people who stress and overwhelm themselves with things they cannot change, but if they leave it to fate, maybe it wouldn’t be so rough on their mental health.

It is going to happen, whatever it is, one way or another, and we can’t change it because we have no clue what we would be changing. I believe in fate because once it happens, it’s irreversible. We have no idea or true warning, and I feel that if the universe had any other intentions for our lives other than what we make out of it, then we would have reset buttons and time machines.

But I also don’t believe in fate. Maybe we live and do a bunch of unnecessary shit just die. Maybe we are all just completely accidental and a total coincidence. I believe that nothing we do matters what so ever. We meet a guy or girl. We marry them. We get a dog. The dog dies. Our wife or husband dies. We die. Maybe the only thing fated in life in death, everything before that is just whatever happens, happens. We don’t know. it’s irreversible and it only happened because we allowed it to. Maybe it is all without purpose but believing that all the bad things that happen to us won’t necessarily lead to something better, or that those wonderful moments with the person you love might just fade away, is kind of depressing.

You can call me indecisive, but what is wrong with me believing in fate, and the lack of if I can explain them both. Fate is a beautiful thing, maybe everything is already planned for us, and no matter what choice we make, it will be the right one because fate has already decided our choice. There is no right or wrong, because whatever we do, rather it is morally correct or not, it’s fated. On the other hand, the lack of fate and reason for living, leaves us to make our own happiness that will just lead to death anyway. We are kind of left with a “what does it matter” view on life, so we do what ever the hell we want because it doesn’t matter anyway.

Yeah, I believe in both, but at the end of day I really just believe in doing you, whatever that may be. Rather you do it because of fate, or because you feel there is no purpose to do otherwise, just do it. I just hope that what you do makes you happy, because life, fated or not, shouldn’t be sad.

I’ve never really liked valentines day. In fact, I believe that valentines day is just a set up for people to spend their money to try and prove their love to their significant other or whatever. But, why can’t you just show that everyday? Why do you have to flash your money around or compete with your friends to see how much more you can buy than them? It’s just a run for your money. Commercial crap. Plus, I don’t like chocolate too much, and cheesy valentine’s day cards just seriously make my stomach hurt. I don’t mean to sound like a Debbie Downer but really? The overall concept of love at this point has been twisted and ringed up over and over again and the hype that people feel over this thing – I don’t get it. To me, love is being able to show you care through simple, small things on a daily. If I were to love someone in that way, I’d always pay attention to the small things that make them happy and always continue to different little small things. The reward in it isn’t some big teddy bear or a huge box of chocolates or even a 15 karat ring that I’d probably never wear – it’s the small smile that crosses their face when they notice it. I want to be able to tell their moods through the smallest things to make sure I’m able to be there for them without them even mentioning anything to me. That’s what love is and I’d like to receive the same back. I don’t even care about the constant ‘I love you’s’ that may come from a person’s mouth. It was drilled in my head that actions speak louder than words and that’s how I would like my relationship to be. So, yeah. I really don’t like valentine’s day. If you love and care about me, show me through the small things everyday. Don’t wait until valentine’s day to flash your love. Love me now. <3 

I’ve been in the weirdest state lately. I think I’ve reached a point where I’m so stressed that I don’t even think I’m stressed. I know that sounds stupid, but I think it’s like I’m building an immunity to stress or something. If I’m being honest, I think it’s because of my extracurricular activities combined with my classes. I’m worried about ensemble because I don’t really have time to practice my trombone, so I just continue to get worse at it. Any time I do have, I dedicate it to getting Malone’s packets done because if I don’t, they’ll never be completed. Last week, I was so dead to the world because of deadlines for literary and from working on the history packets, that I lost all motivation I had to work on my short fiction assignment. But as a little spark of positivity, the first draft will be so bad that the second draft will look like a masterpiece. I have the basic plot set up for it, but I just don’t have the time to really dig into it like I want to. If I ever find downtime, I’ll try to work on it then and continue to improve it. I know it would be a good story (and I’m not tooting my own horn here), but it would only be good if I can manage to work on it.  

Also, to deal with this stress, I’m currently listening to “Colourblind” by Hands Like Houses on repeat. It’s a great song that just makes me so flipping happy. Maybe it’ll motivate me to get stuff done. I recommend that everyone listen to the song. 

So we had to write a “I believe” lil blurb about something we believe in. We are now (by the time this is posted I’ll be finished) turning into a play. This whole thing was kind of based on my grandparent’s and their love, because it honestly was something I look up to a lot. It showed me that love doesn’t have to be this cliche thing and love doesn’t have to be romantically or even for people at all.  And that’s what the play is about.  Anyways, here is this statement. Here’s my TedTalk :))))))))

///

I believe that physical closeness does not define love. People madly in love can simply co-exist. Being attached at the hip, does not equal deepness of said relationships. Stable relationships can be rooted in mutual understanding, maturity, shared beliefs and passions, etc. A couple can sleep in separate beds and lead separate lives, and still come together at the end of the day and love each other. This is not to say though, that relationships should be without affection. It can be as small as a kiss on the head before bed. I also believe that to show love, one doesn’t need grand gestures. It can range from watching their favorite television shows to remembering how they like a certain food prepared. “I love you” is not a word; it’s an action. Love shifting from something new and exciting to domestic life doesn’t mean it’s weathered either. Growing older just means you have to shift the focus on love and how it is expressed. There is a fine line between a love-less marriage, and a matured one. It takes a self-aware couple to realize this. Marriages fail because of many different reasons. The two participants need to know the difference between love and infatuation. To love someone, you don’t always have to like them. You stick with them through thick and thin because you care for them, and you want it to work. It’s a team effort. Infatuation is quick and short lived. Some people spend their whole lifetimes trying to discern the difference between the two. Some spend their entire marriage not knowing. Sometimes it’s not that clear. To love someone truly, you try your hardest to make it work. Through anything and everything. If you give up, you don’t truly love them. If it fails despite all your efforts, you still love them. Sometimes it’s the right person wrong time. Sometimes it’s the right time wrong person. Sometimes it’s the wrong time wrong person. But each person is a lesson. Lesson of self-worth. A teaching moment of how to treat others. Maybe even just for fun. For comfort. Love doesn’t even have to be for a person. It can be for a place, a thing, an animal, anything. You can be heartbroken from things other than people. Your favorite restaurant gets shut down; they no longer make your favorite night time snack; you had to put your dog down. Those are all heartbreaking things. Love can be with a person but doesn’t have to. It’s amazing to get to spend your life with a companion, but it can still be filled with love and fulfillment in the absence of that. Love is something that should be cherished.  I believe that love is everywhere, and that is defined and not defined by a myriad of different things. Love is ever changing and ever personalized to each individual person and experience.

 

Undertale, an indie game made by Toby Fox, was released in 2015, and quickly skyrocketed from an obscure game into a staple of internet culture. This game, though criticized by some for it’s rudamentary graphics and lackluster story, actually has a deeper plot behind the veil of such a simple game.

In the similar vein of such games like Doki Doki Literature Club, Undertale brings a new meaning of “meta” to the table. Early on, you learn the mechanics of the game and the different actions you can take: you can choose to be a pacifist, using your actions to placate the monsters you encounter and leave them unharmed; you can pick and choose who you kill and who you spare, leading to different ending with different characters; or you can choose to completely wipe out the entire underground, slaughtering every monster in your path until there are none left.

This game gives you a clear precedent: your choices matter. Who you kill and who you spare affects how the game continues and how other characters interact with you. Kill  certain characters, and you get different dialogue. A clear example is if you choose to kill off one of the more popular characters of the game, a skeleton named Papyrus. His dream is to be a royal guard, and to achieve his dream, he tries to capture you. If you choose to kill him, his brother then begins to show a clear contempt for you, as well as the captain of the royal guard, Undyne, who specifically asks you “Papyrus… what did you do to him?” However, if you spare him along with everyone else, he leaves the underground with his friends and brother, and in the end credits you can see him driving a fancy car down a highway.

Deltarune, however, is almost completely different from the first game Toby made. Yes, there are returning characters, and the art style is similar, but other than that, the story is far from what most were expecting when Toby dropped the game on Halloween after a few ominous tweets. You create your human, only to have it all erased with the message “we can’t choose who we are in this world.” You play as Kris, a silent human who goes to school and has to deal with the formidable bully of the class, Suzy. You are both sent to a dark world, and after meeting the kind prince Ralsei, you embark on a journey to bring peace to the land and bring yourself home. What options you choose do very little to do with the game as a whole: you can choose to fight everyone, only to have them run away before you kill them, or spare them, leading to a slightly more peaceful ending. The message is clear: your choices do not matter anymore.

I find it fascinating how one man can create two vastly different games. His first game was a huge success and brought about a new era to the indie gaming industry. Many were anxious to see what his next project would be, hoping it would live up to the legend that was his first game. I can only imagine how stressful it would be to have the entire world watching you, waiting for your next “big thing,” unknowing on how your next idea will be delivered. He confessed during a series of tweets that he didn’t know whether or not he would ever finish Deltarune in his lifetime, because he had so many ideas and mechanics he wanted to put into the next installments of the game.

This duality is something that many creators experience: burnout. We are pushed to create, build off of past successes, but what if we don’t want to be known for what we’ve done in our past? What if we have new ideas, but we don’t know how they’ll be taken, because it’s different from our known content? We don’t know until we try it, and that’s a scary thing. So we keep chugging out sequel after sequel, using the same ideas over and over until they become old and stale. It leads to a society that doesn’t know what original content truly looks like because everything is just a copy of everything else. We need to learn to push past this fear of failure, embrace new ideas, and accept that not everything is black and white all the time. And that’s okay. We choose to keep looking forward, to new ideas, and that is truly art.

Sometimes new content is as simple as making an anagram of a title you already used, turning it into something new.

Dear Mr. Kevin Hart,

             This book was an inspiration, aw well as somewhat of a mirror of my life. Much to my surprise, we have gone through some very similar situations. You know sometimes when I go through things, I feel like I am the only one, so it was like a breath of fresh air to know that I am not alone.

            The chapters that stood out the most were: Life Lessons from Dad, Life Lessons from Mom, Life Lessons from The Grind, Life Lessons from Obstacles, Life Lessons from Loss, and Life Lessons from Success. If you don’t mind, I would like to tell you why.

             When I read the title Life Lessons from Dad, I thought it would be about how your dad taught you how to be a man growing up. As I began reading, I saw that your dad taught you what not to do instead of what to do. Mine did the same thing. Then when I read the title Life Lessons from Mom, I thought it would be about the few things in life your mother could teach you about being a man. As I read, I saw that your mother showed you that when you must take care of business, that is just what you had to do, especially when there are children involved.

             Next, I read the title Life Lessons from The Grind, I thought it would be about the things you learned while trying to make a name for yourself. It was exactly that. Then I read the title Life Lessons from Obstacles, I thought it would be about the things you learned during the times that bad things started to happen. It was exactly that.

             At this point, I’m just not knowing what to expect, which is great, may I add. So, I read the title Lessons from Loss, and I thought it would be about the people or interest you would lose in certain things/people. Although it was that, it was also about the loss of the things and people you cherish too. And when I read Life Lessons form Success, I thought it would be about the wonderful things that come with success. It was like that, but much like Life Lessons from Loss, you would lose a lot with success.

             I say all of this to simply say that the way your formatted, organized, and wrote the book not only kept me wanting to read more, but also kept me not knowing what to expect. When writing something as grand as a book, that is a great thing to be able to do. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for writing this. I’m more than positive that I am not the only person who is inspired by this book. Please keep doing your thing.

 

It has been exactly nine days since I’ve been to school, and I see this as a blessing in disguise. During these last nine days I’ve been torn down in every way possible. My confidence has been tested and maybe even diminished. My aggravation has skyrocketed, and my stress has been high. I have let the words of others circulate my mind until it’s all I’ve been able to hear. I have procrastinated looking in the mirror, too scared of what I might see.

At the same time, I have this new level of assurance, like I’ve fallen and I’m just starting to get back up. I’m not fully up, but I’m right there on the edge. I have this little voice in my mind telling me, “their perceptions of you are false,” and I chose to believe it.

This week I realized I have to take things day by day. All this time I’ve been living in future thoughts that I’ve missed out on half of my high school career. I am so behind in the achievements that I could possess right now.

I believe I have awoken. Time has gone by so quickly and I can’t help but wonder, “did I waste it?” But see, I don’t believe I have.

One thing I learned this week is that everything I’ve ever done has led me to this moment right now. Every decision I’ve made. Every single mistake has led me to this moment right here. I’d be lying if I told you I’m not okay with the person I’ve become because I am so proud of myself. I’ve overcome so many challenges and barriers throughout these past few years. These events have taught me brilliant lessons that I will forever hold dear to me. I know now that if those situations would have never occurred, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.

I also learned that the only thing that is holding me back from achieving my goals and dreams is myself. Myself. I can accomplish anything I want to. Absolutely anything. When my mind tells me I’m tired, I will keep going because the only thing holding me back is me.

If I would have known this sooner I probably wouldn’t need to work so hard, but I refuse to let my mind focus on ‘what ifs’ because it is WASTED TIME. And at this point I have no time for wasted time.

I refuse to let myself get down because certain people have left my life. I realize now if they were so willing to leave so quickly, they don’t give a damn about what I am about to become. I almost let them determine who I was going to be and if I was going to make it or not.

In these last nine short days I learned that the day I stopped listening to what everybody else said was the day I started getting stuff for myself done.

I believe I am finally awake.