Category: Senior Literary

 Released in the summer of 2017, SZA’s debut album, CTRL, gave many people a relatable grouping of songs which ventured into the workings of today’s relationships, insecurities, self-love, desire and so many more topics heavily affecting today’s’ generation. CTRL, as explained by SZA, is an album all about the concept of her control over her personal life. This album features 14 songs, each being unique and different than the last.

The opening of this album is a song featuring SZA’s vulnerability about a toxic relationship which leads to her questioning her beauty, her worth and analyzing her insecurities worsened by this relationship.  This song is none other than “Supermodel”.

“Supermodel” is introduced by SZA’s mother in a short skit. 

“That is my greatest fear
That if, if I lost control
Or did not have control, things would just, you know
I would be… fatal”

As previously stated, CTRL is an album all about the concept of controlling certain aspects of our life. What can we control? How much control do we have? Do we have any control at all over our life? These questions, unfortunately, are not answered in this album, but it does call the listener to question these things.

Following the skit is an acoustic guitar chord which SZA describes as sad in a video interview with GQ. The song easily put me in a relaxed space on the first listen causing me to really sit and hear the lyrics with a cleared mind. 

I would describe the first verse of “Supermodel” as SZA’s coming clean  moment. It is in this verse that she reveals a moment of unfaithfulness to a partner after being abandoned by them on Valentine’s Day. I would even go so far as to say this song is a message directed towards them.

“I’m writing this letter to let you know…” begins this songs leaving it to  be interpreted as a letter. As the song progresses so does the direction of this letter. It’s a tennis match between a letter to herself and her past lover. She pleads for his validation of her beauty and love as she simultaneously questions why she can’t stand the thought of being alone and why she puts up with his lack of validation and love.

As the song progresses into the chorus drums are introduced to the song creating a rhythm which instantly lulled me. Still seeking validation from her partner on her outer beauty, she still ventures on to question why she isn’t comfortable with her own self.

“I could be your supermodel if you believe If you see it in me, see it in me, see it in me; I don’t see myself” is the core of this entire song. When most people think of a supermodel, myself included, they think of high-confident people with charismatic energy and discipline about themselves. In these lines of the chorus, SZA wishes to be seen of a woman with confidence and status while she also fails to see it in herself causing questions concerning her self esteem and insecurity.

These are all very true topics that are relevant in today’s society. Comparisons of one’s self to “supermodels” or social media personalities, the normalization and often times praised culture of toxic and unhealthy relationships, the seemingly non-existent control people don’t think they have of their life. SZA did an amazing job putting all of these topics into one song with the lyrics while the actual musical production of it is sweet and calming.

The song goes on to the second verse which still talks of her seeking validation and wondering coming to the conclusion of why she chose to stay in an unhealthy relationship, which wasn’t love. And the chorus plays again and as the song closes it features the backing vocals of Pharrell, music artist and producer.

This song is a contemporary masterpiece, dissecting into the vulnerability of SZA, leaving something so relatable and beautiful behind it. I thoroughly enjoy this entire album and recommend it anymore, no matter what genre of music you like there is surely something on this album to satisfy your musical palette. I will be leaving links to the GQ interview previously mentioned and a link to song on YouTube. Be sure to check them out and I hope you enjoy the musical artistry of SZA and Supermodel. 

Thank You for Reading,

A Girl Lost in the Garden with Pretty Little Birds <3

 

Hello, today I will be reviewing an article about Walmart’s truck driver uniform policy and how it is discriminatory towards female drivers.

Check out the article here:

Www.cbsnews.com, 13 Jan. 2022, www.cbsnews.com/news/walmart-lawsuit-diana-webb-truck-driver-alabama/

Diana Webb, a female Walmart truck driver recently filed a lawsuit against the company because the uniforms were tailored to men’s bodies and didn’t fit women properly.  Webb states she had to search for other clothes that were similar to the uniform that would fit her.  When she asked Walmart to reimburse her for having to buy her own uniform clothes, the declined stating they would have to pay for all the females to buy their clothes if they paid for hers.  Webb decides to file a lawsuit against Walmart for this sexist policy of not having an appropriate female uniform.  Drivers can wear their own pants, however the men get their pants washed for free by Walmart, if the women elect to wear their own pants instead of the incorrectly fitting uniforms they also have to wash them themselves.  This might seem insignificant, but it is unfair to have a service available to men while not having that same service available for men.  Webb has also filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission about the blatant misogyny.

Considering the company has 54% female employees, this could lead to a significant but necessary loss for the company.  Uniforms need to be provided for the female employees that are not uncomfortable and don’t fit correctly because of their different body shape.  Walmart is a giant corporation, but since this sexist custom has come to public light, they will likely see a loss in business until the issue is corrected.  

In my opinion, this should have never been an issue to begin with.  Everyone knows men and women normally have very different body shapes, and accommodating uniforms should be provided by the company.  I hope Webbs wins the lawsuit and that the company must change this policy for the inclusion of all female drivers.  It is honestly ridiculous at this point that things like this are still happening in 2022.  Misogyny seems to be just as rampant now as it was 30 years ago, because we are unwilling to make progress.  Men refuse to give up the hold they have, and sure some things may seem petty and small, but every little straw will eventually break the camel’s back.

Unfortunately many policies such as this still hinder females from having the same privileges as their male coworkers; if the company is gonna provide and maintain proper uniforms for the men, they need to do the same for the women; anything less is unfair and discriminatory.  It is no surprise to me this happened in Alabama, the south is notorious for being discriminatory to anyone who doesn’t fit into the perfect little box of straight, white, neurotypical male, and if your a women you have to know your place- and honestly, nothing disgusts me more.  I am glad that this women is taking a stand to these policies that are unfair to female workers, companies need to provide equal opportunities for everyone.  Walmart is a company giant, and companies like that tend to think they can do whatever they want and no one will stand up to them, well, someone did, and I wish her the best in getting a little closer to equal opportunity.

Carol Oates is a critically acclaimed, award-winning author with over seventy books published and decades of experience under her belt, and many of her literary works are considered modern cultural staples. However, one of her most poignant pieces is arguably a short story published in 1974 and titled “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” It is a classic retelling of the tragic loss of innocence to the societal evils of temptation, vanity, and reckless behavior. Oates establishes the theme of stolen youth through her characterization of the ensemble of compelling subjects, modern setting, and eerie images used to foreshadow the terrifying plot that is soon to unfold.

The fiction opens in a 1950s suburbia in an unidentifiable part of the United States. This setting is significant to the story because it represents a continuously-evolving culture that determines the value of young girls based on their physical beauty and perceived promiscuity. Immediately, the audience is introduced to the protagonist Connie, a fifteen year old who is obsessed with her appearance and feels disconnected from her family due to her mother’s constant complaints about her vanity, the emotional absence of her father, and constant comparisons to her older sister, June. Oates writes, “…she had a quick, nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was all right….June did this, June did that…and Connie couldn’t do a thing, her mind was all filled with trashy daydreams.” The use of third person point of view allows for an objective commentary on the type of person Connie is, and it places the reader in the complex position of recognizing more about the protagonist than she recognizes about herself; because they have a clearer understanding of the dangers of this kind of behavior, the foreshadowing brings them a more intense sense of dread, and the tension thickens as the plot moves closer and closer to the climax.

After a day out with her friend and a boy, a man in a bright, golden car approaches Connie at her home while her family is out, determined to make a perverted claim on her. The color of the car is a symbol of the gilded promises of fulfillment that girls receive from men seeking to prey upon their innocence. As stated by the narrator, “It was a car she didn’t know. It was an open jalopy, painted a bright gold that caught the sunlight opaquely. Her heart began to pound and her fingers snatched at her hair, checking it, and she whispered, ‘Christ. Christ,’ wondering how bad she looked.” Although Connie is made anxious by the situation, she is most concerned about whether or not her appearance will meet the expectations of this vulturous man; the difference between her internal feelings and her actions is an example of irony. It also further characterizes Connie as a person who places immense value on the way men perceive her and her ability to appease them with her beauty. Another example of characterization comes on page seven: “…and even that slippery friendly smile of his, that sleepy dreamy smile that all the boys used to get across ideas they didn’t want to put into words.” It further illustrates the intentions of this man, and gives insight into the fact that Connie is at least somewhat familiar with the entitled attitude of men who are attracted to her.

Overall, the story has an anxious, foreboding tone that puts readers on edge with its sober word choice and images. Although the author has been criticized for making statements that allow space for victim-blaming, the weight of her words is still immense in the hands of a generation where young people are encouraged to act matured and sacrifice their youth to the sexual explotation of predators, such as the antagonist in this story. Oates uses the story of fifteen year old Connie to warn other teenagers of the abusive circumstances that they might end up in if they are not aware of the dangers of being dependent on validation from others to feel whole. Connie’s safety and innocence, represented by her family home, is mercilessly violated, because instead of being protected by her family, she is shamed by them and acts in retaliation to their actions.

 

Will Wood has taken the place of my favorite music artist this past year, and if you take the time to listen to his most recent work, The Normal Album, you’ll totally understand why someone like me would be so enthralled with his music. I’ve even written a (admittedly pretty bad) blog about the him and his band before, which you can read here for a more in-depth look into why I love his music so much. So, I decided why not try to do a quick analysis on each song included on The (absolutely anything but) Normal Album before Will Wood releases his new upcoming one, In Case I Make It. These songs are so incredible and deserve MUCH more than a high schooler writing this with a deadline around the corner and an average of 4 hours of sleep. These will only be a quick surface-level overview of the themes and tone of each song, so I recommend you check these out for yourself and read more about them!

1. Suburbia Overture: Greetings from Mary Bell Township! / (Vampire) Culture / Love Me, Normally

In classic Will Wood fashion, the title of this track is long and convoluted. The song is split into three parts, each having it’s own title. However, I’ll be talking about the track as a whole here. The song is a commentary on the “ideal” white picket fence and nuclear family and how that, and modern culture as a whole, can be extremely toxic. Will Wood relates the middle-class Suburbia to a war zone as while discussing its malicious and vampiric aspects. Self-expression is exiled in this world of blind conformity, and the underlying misery is painted over with images of family barbecues and white weddings.

My favorite stanza from the song:

“…So give me your half-life crisis
I can tell that you know where paradise is
Where parasites don’t care what your blood type is
Only pheromones and serotonin decide…”

2econd-2ight-2eer (that was fun, goodbye.)

This funky song is definitely one of my favorites from the album. The main theme of the song is breaking free from the conformity the world pushes onto us and living life the “crazy” way you want, even if the world looks upon you with judgment. The song has heavy religious symbolism and discusses breaking free of its grip and the surrounding culture of it. In short, embrace being “a psycho, babe,” and live life without worrying about what boring people think of you. You only get one life, so live it to the fullest without shame.

My favorite stanza from the song:

“…Some days I’m glad that I am a madman and I’d rather be that than
An amicable animal, mild-mannered cannibal
But I’m more level-headed and clever than ever and I’m getting better one forever at a time
And if sick is defined by what’s different, well then pull the plug out and let me die…”

Laplace’s Angel (Hurt People? Hurt People!)

The title of this song is a reference to Laplace’s demon, a scientific proposition of causal determinism, which I’m not nearly smart enough to fully understand, but essentially says that all events in the future are caused by the events of the past. Hurt People? Hurt People! is an obvious reference to the saying of “hurt people hurt people,” suggesting that those who hurt others are deeply damaged themselves. Laplace’s Angel itself is a commentary on “bad people” as a whole and what really makes them “bad.” Are bad people defined by their actions? What about the reasoning of their actions? What about what’s behind the reasoning of their actions? If you were in the exact same shoes as the person you’re judging, what would you do, and would you judge yourself?

My favorite stanza from the song:

“…So if you wash your hands of where you’ve been until you flood the second floor
Neatly fold your skeletons but still can’t shut the closet door
The only ones in need of love are those who don’t receive enough
So evil ones should get a little more…”

I/Me/Myself

Okay, so you’ve probably heard this one before. This song recently blew up on TikTok and sparked tons of conversation about its meaning and even some controversy. Will Wood himself recently came forward to clarify the meaning of the song, so I’ll include his own words from his post on Genius.com.

“To boil it down, the song is about how I respond to my frustration with the limitations of the male gender role, the maladaptive ways I’ve coped with that frustration, and trying to figure out if this experience or any other regarding my gender can or should define me. It reaches the same conclusion that most of my work does – and that is that nothing is real and that if something is hurting us we have the power to cast it off.”

You can read more from his post here.  It does a much better job than I ever could.

This concludes part 1 of my analysis of Will Wood’s The Normal Album. It really is a wild ride to go on, and it’s definitely very high up on my favorite albums of all time list. I really wish I could do this album justice, and if Mr. Wood himself is reading this somehow, thank you SO much for the wonderful work of art! :]

 

In the wise words of Jonathon Wilton, it apparently “takes a cursory glance to know” that I’m obsessed with Taylor Swift. Obviously. I was in her top percent of listeners on Spotify this year, and I’ve been a Swiftie since her debut album. Naturally, I was entirely obsessed with the Fearless re-recording, and because Red is my favorite album, I was so happy to see it come out on Spotify at midnight.

My favorite songs off the album (in no particular order) have to be The Lucky One, Starlight, The Moment I Knew, Message in a Bottle, I Bet You Think About Me, and The Very First Night.

The Lucky One
Anyone who’s looked forward to anything and then been sorely disappointed can relate to this song. Without going into too much detail, it outlines her experience moving into the music industry and everyone saying she finally got what she wanted, yet she feels out of place because she doesn’t necessarily want to be there.

Starlight
This… perfectly outlines what it’s like to fall in love and stay together for your entire life. It’s actually about a couple who met (according to the song) in 1945. It’s so carefree and lively, and just a perfect song in my opinion.

The Moment I Knew
JAKE GYLLENHAAL HAS DONE IT AGAIN. This is about the time he stood her up on her 21st birthday, and it’s referenced again in the 10 minute version of All Too Well. The defining lyric, without a doubt, would have to be “what do you say when tears are streaming down your face in front of everyone you know?” It’s so heartbreaking, and it takes a few listens to get used to it’s vocabulary, but once you’re accustomed to it, it’s so easy.

Message in a Bottle
A double meaning, this song can be interpreted as a long distance relationship or as someone with a masssiveeee crush – either way, it’s beautiful. It’s hopeful and hopeless at the same time, but it’s not so bittersweet; the word that comes to mind is “ambition,” and I’m here for it.

I Bet You Think About Me
Again with Jake Gyllenhaal… “I Bet You Think About Me” talks about his nature as someone who viewed her through a pretentious lens, always thinking that he’s better than everyone around him. It goes into how he took advantage of her age, and it even features a lyric directed toward Kanye and his “million dollar couch…”

The Very First Night
This is the song that you can describe as bittersweet, because it’s a reflection of her time on what seems to be a first date. Tik Tok has taken to changing the lyrics out of controversy, but no hard feelings. It’s a sweet song about reminiscence, which is a breath of fresh air compared to the rest of the heartache album.

Persona, said in context of the writing world, is when a writer writes in first person perspective with the “I” of the poem being an object, an idea, or another person. The “I”  –  also called the narrator  –  of this style of poetry can NOT be the writer themselves.  That is what makes this type of writing unique and most certainly impactful. Poets can dive in and use the (distanced from themselves) perspectives of objects, ideas, or other people to convey powerful messages, call outs, and show beautiful new ways of thinking. 

Below are a few examples of persona poetry being performed, and through these performances we can hear how powerful a poem can become when spoken aloud. These Speakers embody their chosen poems, bringing them to life and expressing them wonderfully. 

Trying my own hand at Persona poetry, I ended up with a collection that I call Breakthrough Persona. Wanting to follow the instructions of not bluntly telling what the narrator is, I decided to alluded to or hint at what my subjects where in their titles. Below are three poems from my collection Breakthrough Persona: stands of mental health, keeper of fiction that’s painfully true, and aspects of titles.

strands of mental health  


What happens after? 
What happens after the good days disappear 
and the bad are all you are allowed to wake up to?
When your feelings are fleeting 
and you get stuck in those in between moments, those transitions — 
what happens then? 
See, clothes cost money; you don't like pain; 
you refuse the drugs, the alcohol, the addictions —
you know those are more damaging, more altering,
than what you want to deal with.
Still, you chase to make a dramatic difference.
To find some reminiscences of control. 
So you find scissors. 
You know I'll grow back. 
Nothing permanent, but it feels drastic all the same. 
You grip me tight and pull me out in chunks —
you cut me off in ragged pieces,
stripping me of my color, my life, my health 
so as to change me to a shade, a style of your liking. 
Truly, what do you think of me?
Do you find my flatness borish or my curls a nuisance?
Do my split-ends and frizziness drive you mad?
They shouldn't, for these are the result of improper care —
I was not treated as treasure for what was natural, but scorned. 
You get angry at pieces of me that are of your own making,
for you did not take time to learn my ways nor 
did you take time to learn how to care for me.
Only time and gentle attention will fix this unruly, tangled, damaged mess 
that you have made of me. 

Simply learn my ways;
treat me in the right regard —
then I will follow.

keeper of fiction that’s painfully true.  


I am stained 
with tears as ink, 
with the essence of your being; 
your thoughts, your hates, and your desires.

You scratch me 
with words of graphite, 
with the shade of your mind; 
your wonders, your fears, and your wishes. 

So why do you tear me up into shredded little pieces of emotions and crumble me into a simple piece of trash — one that you don’t even think to pick up after you have thrown me towards the dumpster and missed —

why have you dismissed me so?

I am covered
with truths as fiction,
with a piece of your life;
your pasts, your presents, and your futures.

You line me 
with hordes of symbolism,
with a sliver of your sight;
Your perspectives, your actions, and your dialogues. 

So why do you fold me up into tiny squares of pretendence and hide me in the creased lining of notebooks — ones that you don’t ever think to open after you have stacked notebook upon notebook on what you want forgotten — 

why have you abandoned me so?

aspects of titles 


You get called a lot of things growing up. 
I might have been a nickname, a compliment, or an insult. 
I might have been a pet name, a label, or an evaluation.
I might be reserved for one person.
I might be reserved for many. 
When you were little, I was “curious”, “Momma’s girl”, and “mature”.
Now that you are older, I am “intelligent”, “independent”, and “childish”. 

I change as you grow and develop — 
new sides of yourself allow for others
to come up with more of me. 
So don’t be afraid, 
when I am changed on the whims of others; 
embrace me, take the new versions of me that you want, and disregard the others — 
for half of what they call you is made of their opinion, and the rest is what you decide I am. 

So that’s what i have on Persona Poetry! Hope you liked reading my blog about this topic, and maybe it will inspire you to try persona poetry out for yourself!

Look… I did not think I was going to like this show as much as I do. I couldn’t stand the rain, so I decided to start watching Survivor – just to see what all the hype was about. I started on Season 28, the most recent on Netflix, which hosted three groups: Brains, Brawn, and Beauty. 

SPOILERS AHEAD

Eventually, Brawn and Beauty wiped out Brains in a series of challenges, diminishing their size against the other two, leading to the first merge: each member drew a color and was assigned to a new tribe, some with nearly complete strangers, others with their whole group staying as a collective with some stragglers.

Tony, Woo, and Spencer were some of the most interesting players. Woo, a taekwondo instructor, played with the most integrity I have ever seen. Never once did he maliciously lie, cheat, or steal in order to pull himself to the top two: he brought himself up on his own by being a reliable player with respectable loyalties.

Tony bled into the opposite end of the spectrum: he played a ruthless game and sabotaged every single person at camp in order to get there, except for Woo. He swore on his badge as a police officer, his wife and children, and his father’s grave: and he still broke them. He had no respectable characteristics except for his sheer hustle to get into the top two.

While Spencer didn’t make it to the top two, I have to give credit where credit is due. Even the host of the show didn’t think he’d make it as far as he did. He strategized with other players as often as he could and as efficiently as he could, and he knew when to make the moves that other players didn’t want to. My favorite thing that he said was at the beginning of the game when he was forced to vote a fellow member of the Brain tribe out. He said something along the lines of, “the fact that you have a PhD in nuclear engineering scares me,”

In the final episode, Tony and Woo faced the jury, consisting of members that had been voted out beforehand. With an overwhelming number of votes, Tony won Survivor: Cagayan, and rage has never filled my body so quickly.

Personally, I believe that Tony was a backstabbing, two-faced liar who didn’t even deserve to make it as far as he did. The entirety of the finale led to an entirely too drawn out discussion of whether you should vote for the player who played the best game or the player who made it the farthest without stabbing anyone in the back. If it were the latter, Woo most certainly should have won.

Ah, The Ballad of Songbirds of Snakes. This book got me through my hospital stay and refueled my fleeting love for The Hunger Games series. I bought the book right when it released, but only got around to reading it this month. I was a little wary to read a novel where the protagonist was 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow, of all people, but I fairly enjoyed it!

P.S.: If you’re reading this review, I’m going to assume you’re already familiar with the Hunger Games series, so I won’t be explaining the events of the previous books or avoiding spoilers from them. You have been warned!

The book takes place sixty-four years before the events of the first Hunger Games novel, but it still very much so takes place in the future. In this book, we’re reminded just how far ahead Panem is. Even so far into the past, we’re still greeted with wonderful science-fiction elements as we were in the original trilogy and a glimpse of the ruins of what used to be North America. 

In short, the book tells the story of the 10th annual Hunger Games and Coriolanus’s involvement in them. This was the first time mentors were introduced, and they happened to be the graduating class of the Academy, which is essentially high school for the Capitol. We get introduced to how several aspects of the games were introduced, and most were proposed by Coriolanus himself. Even some the songs of the series were written and performed by another main character, Lucy Gray Baird.

Speaking of Lucy Gray, the two have a budding romance, and hearing the thoughts of Coriolanus, it can’t help but make you feel uncomfortable. From the very beginning, you can tell something is off in the wording of his thoughts, and it isn’t until later on when it sets in that something just isn’t right. However, the wholesomeness of young love really does shadow over it in the beginning, and I couldn’t help but wish the best for the two while ignoring the red flags.

I definitely wouldn’t be the first person to write that I found Coriolanus’s character FASCINATING. He’s written as the protagonist, and at first you can’t help but root for him. Sure, he starts out with little moments here and there that make you question his character, but it’s just a result of his upbringing, right? That’s the way you think throughout the book, and while I can’t say much here, watching his character devolve was exciting and heartbreaking at the same time. While reading, you forget what President Snow did and how he was in the original trilogy, which makes you forget that this is supposed to be a villain origin story. His character is complex and captivating, and I couldn’t help but hope that somehow everything would end up okay. 

Lucy Gray was by far my favorite character in this story, however. She was the tribute assigned to Coriolanus and instantly captivated both the audience in universe and and out. She was a member of the Covey and resided in District 12- The same district Katniss Everdeen would eventually be a citizen of. She serves as one of the biggest connectors to the culture of the Districts.

Overall, I loved the commentary that came with Snow’s character mentioned above and the lovely writing and imagery in the book. The callbacks to the original trilogy were wonderful bonuses, and the characters were all super engaging and fun to read about. I also ADORED the main antagonist, Dr. Gaul. However, my biggest gripes with the story has to be the pacing. It’s EXTREMELY slow at the beginning, and sometimes it just feels as if events are being thrown in to make the story more entertaining before the Hunger Games. That would have been more okay if the pacing of the story didn’t kick off and go a million miles an hour at the third part. It just felt very underwhelming, but it definitely make you think while reading, which is a great aspect to have in your writing.

I give The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes 3/5 stars.

What if I told you there was a place where every year, people changed.  Well that’s obvious, everyone changes, but I mean really changes.  Somewhere where every year, everyone becomes someone new entirely.  Well that somewhere is the small town of Clearwater, Montana.  Once a year it begins to rain.  It is a light rain at first; then it becomes a violent storm.  The storm takes all who once were, and recycles them into new.  The old are gone, the rain misses them, they have to go to it.  Each year the rain dissolves each person into water; it then reforms them into new people that are always different from before.  The foundation has had trouble studying this phenomenon because when the event starts no one can enter; no one can leave.  Everyone in the town becomes a totally different person with no memory of their previous self. 

Rain can seem dreary, but also represents life and rebirth.  This is an ironic truth in the case of Clearwater.  The event is typically in June and lasts for six to eighteen days.  For the first forty eight hours, it is light and calm rain; however after that it becomes a violent thunderstorm that will last until the event ends.  Any attempts by the foundation to enter the town during an event have failed, either by loss of personnel, or emerging on the other side of the town; just like it was never even there.  If a resident of Clearwater is absent for the event, they will simply disappear.  There is also an effect on people who do not live in the town to quickly lose focus while talking about the town or its citizens.  They do not forget about it, simply have trouble paying attention to it.  

Our main source of information comes from a girl who was keeping a journal during one of the events, and the journal was recovered by the SCP foundation.  A young woman identified as ‘Margaret Lane’ was the author, in the event of 1995. 

The SCP Foundation is a fictional organization that focuses on capturing “anomalies” aka, anything that may have special powers or can break the natural laws.  SCP stands for Secure, Contain, Protect, the foundations goal is to keep these creatures in check while studying them and keeping the public from knowing the truth.  They seem to be a morally gray organization as they are fine with doing inhumane experiments on harmless and even friendly creatures.    

Check out the story of SCP 3300 and others here: https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-3300

The people of clearwater are not exactly people, well in the normal sense that we think of people.  For most of the time they are people, down to their DNA, as the foundation can not find anything anomalous about the citizens in themselves.  During the 3300 event something changes, every resident of Clearwater, Montana dies by being turned into water that makes up this storm that is the anomaly.  The storm then makes a new set of people, who think they have lived in Clearwater for their whole lives.  The new people behave very strangely during the event, but once it is over they seem to be perfectly normal citizens of a small town.  They retain no memory of being made by the storm, or their previous selves.  The dreams give us clues into the start of this occurrence, some form of ritual that started when a village tried to save itself from destruction.  They did in a way save themselves by becoming part of the storm, but it came at the cost of continual, tragic loss of life, even if they may not exactly be what we consider ‘normal humans’.  

The story of Clearwater may seem like mere fiction, but can also be considered in a more philosophical sense.  If you think about it, the citizens of Clearwater are experiencing the same thing as everyone else, just at a much more accelerated rate.  We all will eventually succumb to death, and no matter where you run or where you hide, it is inevitable.  We can all learn a thing or two from Margaret and her friends struggles.  You should enjoy the life you have while you have it, before you are whisked away and gone forever, doomed to be forgotten in the unforgiving winds of time.  So ask yourself, is it really so different from us?  Maybe you are a thrill seeker, or maybe you stay shut up in your house, scared of the outside world.  But no one wants to die; not even those who say they do.  Those who wish to take their own life only do so as a last resort, as the only way that they can see out, but even they do not truly want to die.  It is just because their situation has become so bad, they wish to end it by any means.   If they had a better life, if they weren’t so stressed, if, if, if, if…you get the idea.  You have a natural instinct to survive, every creature does.  Live, eat, drink, sleep, repeat.  Did you know you can’t snap your own neck?  Go ahead, try it, it doesn’t matter how strong you are, it’s impossible.  It’s because your brain won’t let you use all of your strength as it knows it will most likely end to your death, so it keeps you from doing it.  Maybe we can all learn to appreciate life a little more from now on, because we never know when our time is up.