Victoria Lee Post 11

My friend and I had a discussion about the reality of the world.

I was trying to say that we are judged first on how we look, and only one type of beauty is appreciated in this world. It's a reality. And I had to accept that. I didn’t want to kid myself.

She said, yes, that may be how the world is today. But I believe that it isn’t right. I believe that the world can change. That’s not what I believe, and I refuse to see the world in that way. And maybe that’s incredibly unrealistic and terrible of me. Maybe that’s crazy. Maybe no one else believes me. But it’s better than just accepting that terrible truth and degrading yourself that way. It's better than not trying to change.

And I was suddenly reminded--

the greatest, most magnificent people are who they are because they thought differently. They didn’t question the crazies-- they questioned tradition. They didn’t accept it. They changed things. They thought of ideas light years ahead of themselves and changed the world.

I smiled, because I was suddenly reminded of what gave me hope for so long. And it gave me back the faith and spirit that I have been lacking all this year. And I thanked her for it.

Victoria Lee Post 10

My friend was heartbroken today over the terrorist attacks. "How did the city of light become a city of darkness?"

Well that's the thing. The City of Light is called that because it shines brightest when enveloped in darkness. The brave heroes fight the hardest when evil comes out to destroy.

Do not give up. You are still the City of Light.

Now, more than ever.

Kristen Kim Post 11

My cat has a strange obsession with knocking over the plant by the foot of our stairs. He knocks it over several times a day, after which someone will put it back in its place. I wonder if seeing it put back every time makes it a kind of insurmountable challenge for him, a game that he feels the need to win. Or maybe he's just personally offended by cacti.

Bergeron Post 11

A line that I completely forgot I wrote but for some reason really like:

"When the sun rose on their home, the fear that life had made a cynic out of her still hung around her throat. And so without another word, she and her husband gathered up her unnamed son and their future tragedy, quarantining him again to the back seat of a car, blankets over his head, for when they looked at him, they no longer saw a little child, they saw a monster. They drove as many miles as there are strange ways to love."

Donaher week 11

AAAAAAAAaaaaAAAAaAAaAaAaaAAAAAAAAAaAAaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaAAAaaAaAAAAAAAAAAAAaAaaAAAAAAAAAAaaAaAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAaaaaaAAAaaaAAAAaaAAaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaAaaAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAaaAAAaAAAAAAaaaaaaAAAaaaAaAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaAaAaAAaAaaAa

–A poem from born of a severe caffeine high

Sydney Kim Post 11

Justin Bieber has changed a lot these past couple of years. People can change. For better or worse, it's almost unavoidable. Everyone changes eventually. Unless you're the sun. Then you don't really change.

Hackley 11

• I really hate being home alone late at night because my dog likes to stare at the wall. She becomes really skittish and fixates on one spot, she’ll pace back and forth crying and then stop to growl at that one spot. It’s always the same spot and it freaks me out.

Not Amish (Although he is the coolest person ever) 11

I’ve noticed that I don’t get offended very often at major things, but I get offended way too easily if someone does something small like not giving me enough space to sit. For example, today my friend ordered Chipotle for me, but they said no cheese even though I wanted cheese (since I am well known for hating cheese, although I like it on pizza and quesadillas since you can’t really taste the cheese and it adds a certain texture to the food, but otherwise I still don’t understand why people like cheese. It just smells so bad). So I just ended up with a sad taco with chicken and beans and salsa that was gross. I was so upset that I just lay down and did nothing for a good two hours.

Brooks Post 11

It's funny how we wish for general things to happen to us, yet when they finally happen to us we reject them because they aren't what we want. (As in wanting to hang out with someone, but a person you dislike wants to hang out with you so you say no.)

Alexus Rogers: 11

 Story Idea: A dense crowd of trees creates a dome type thing. It seems like any other ordinary pile of trees, but only the most curious who dare to enter into it find out that it's actually a door to an alternate universe

O'Neal Post 11

I clicked on the link, and as the video of Ben Carson saying gay people don't exist played, I felt myself slowly disappearing.

Lauren double-1

I never thought two adults could have a conversation about gluten and credit cards and whatever while completely submerged in their own romantic world--saturated in soft cutesy voices, gazing into each other's eyes, sighing, acting all cute, practically oozing ~tension~, as if any second we'd all have to flee the store to give them some....privacy.
I almost felt uncomfortable watching it, as if I had walked in on something I had no right to barge in on--I mean, it was a public grocery aisle with about twenty other people milling around, but still.
But as I got to thinking about it, how cute is that? I want that kind of relationship, where the cuteness never dies out.

Reid 11

Somedays I just want people to blindly agree with me because I just don't want to argue.

Donaher week 10

For future reference, do not microwave the following:

• metal
• plastic
• tree sap
• cell phones
• people (unless they're into that sort of thing)
• other microwaves
• clouds
• fire
• popcorn that is on fire
• intangible items such as thoughts or religion or cats

Jain 11

Story Idea: A medieval era type of story, knights, and all that stuff...... BUT IN SPACE

Nelson 10

I was driving behind my mom, who was driving the horse trailer, when someone tried to pass me on a 1 lane, 50 mph road. I don't think the person realized that the trailer was in front of me, but they could have easily caused a huge accident if they had kept going. I can't understand people who drive like maniacs to get somewhere. It's always better to be late and live to see another day.

Wiser IX

I wonder if dads get together to discuss home improvement and enjoy...Netflix and drill.

Wiser VIII

I think Tantalus's punishment was one of the worst punishments of all. Not being able to eat or drink a thing when the word tantalizing comes from your name? That's rough, buddy.

Donaher week 9

We should just replace orchestra and band instruments with kazoos. In fact, replace every single instrument in the world with kazoos. Wedding processions accompanied by a chorus of plastic buzzing. Nothing would be taken seriously.

Alexus Rogers: Post 10

Story Idea: Cat burglars. People who steal cats for the sinister purpose of starting a cat army to take over the world. (They can control the cats' minds and cats can talk, they just refuse to.

Reid 10

The painter took their makeshift brush, coating their canvas in layers of water, causing the house, the driveway, and the gray tarp to wash away the dirt and grim and left only a pale mirror, reflecting the weeping sky above.

Alexus Rogers Post 9

The other day I was driving up my friends driveway (An EXTREMELY steep hill/ driveway) for the first time. Mind you I'm terribly afraid of driving up hills. During this time, my little brother, Blakey, was playing a video game with extremely loud music. Just as I started driving slightly up the hill, Blake's music started playing a jaws like theme song that was slow at the start of the hill and once I reached the steepest part of the hill, Blake's music reached the climax. Add to that my mom's incessant laughter at Blake's music. To say the least, this was probably one of the most stressful moment I've had in my life.

Jain 10

After seeing the story "Concussion", and how a character faces the world by himself. The doctor has evidence proving that people are hurting themselves, but no one wants to believe him. They are more concerned about money, then their own safety. The character has to go through adversity to be sucssessful. 

Victoria Lee Post 9

I never want to be rich, because it seems corruption is inevitable with money, and the thought of corruption scares me. But what scares me even more is the idea that corruption may not scare me anymore one day.

Kristen Kim Post 10

The word 'soft' is probably my favorite word. Every meaning it has is just so soothing and calming and comforting. It also just sounds soft when you say it. Say it. It feels soft in your mouth. Soft. Soft. Soft.

Waszak 10

When you look at cars driving by when you're standing at the side of the road it looks so intimidating to be driving one of them, but once you drive one yourself, it seems almost safer and less threatening.

Mathews 10

I completed my pokedex for the second time in Pokemon today. I was given a shiny charm as a reward, so now I am catching every single shiny pokemon (which is a pokemon that is colored differently than normal pokemon of the same species, with a 1 in 8000 chance approximately of finding them). Why am I wasting my time with this. There’s no reward. Who knows.

O'Neal Post 10

Our generation is too coddled. We are upset by insignificant things, and when something actually important is upsetting, we shut down, reject all different views, and refuse to have a dialogue. We think we have the right to never be uncomfortable. Anybody who disagrees with us is an idiot not worth listening to, and our opinion is the only right one. We must become more open to discussing things that make us uncomfortable or upset, rather than just shutting down and refusing to listen. A one-sided argument is not an argument at all.

Madie 10

Just because one's actions are understandable, it doesn't make them justifiable.

Alexus Rogers: Post 8

One day in the mall, there was an older gentleman in line behind me. The cashier had just given me my change when it was the man's turn in line to pay, he couldn't get the change out of his pocket so I handed him the fifty cents from my leftover change. While I walked away he was stuttering about how he could pay and he was just getting the change now. For some reason this still haunts me, I feel as if I had offended him and hurt his pride. In this way, was it really right to do the 'right' thing?

Hackley 10

• how close are actors realistically to their characters? Must be semi close because the director saw something in them at their auditions that made him/her see the actor as the character.

Kevin Brooks Post 10

It's sad that someone defending our country gets paid less than someone making burgers and fries at a fast food joint.

Sydney Kim Post 10

"I love writing with wet lead."

-Rebecca

You do you Becca. You do you.

Lauren post DIEZ

From a story I'm writing:

"Just start at the beginning."
"All right..."
"Are...are you sure you want to talk right now? We can pick this up another time--"
"No, no it's fine. Um...i guess it started...do you know what snow is?"

Bergeron Post 10

I wonder if my car, Nemo, notices the change. For years it's been nothing but him and my dad, a loud Filipino man constantly swearing in Tagalog. Now it's just some teenaged girl who's constantly screaming. I wonder if I make my car feel youthful.

Gregg 10

Today, an adult who I barely know picked up a book that I was holding and asked if I knew how to use it. He then looked all over the book and asked me where the "on" button is. Why does my generation get blamed for being exploited by capitalism?

Nelson Post 9

I don't believe that true justice exists, because I don't think any amount of money or the imprisonment/death of a murderer could ever make up for the loss of a loved one.

White post 8

What if every time someone died there was a radio that blasted "Another one bites the dust" worldwide but because someone dies like every seven seconds it was just perpetually playing on like a constant loop recording and every time an important event happened in your life "Another one bites the dust" would just be playing solemnly off in the distance even during like the inaugural address and stuff like that would be effing hilarious I'm sorry but it would be

White post 7

Like hot soup, I have burnt the tip of my tongue with all the words I have not said.

White post 6

I often have to catch myself and remind myself that it is more appropriate to say "What are you planning on going to school for?" than "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I still find myself saying that. And although it sounds childish, it's true. We are all still growing up, evolving, changing. We never stop.

White post 5

Whenever I tell people I don't want to vote for president they act all offended and look at me as if I have three heads. "But that's your right as an American citizen" they say. But the truth is, quite frankly my dear, I don't give a damn. (Hahah see what I did there :p) None of my heroes will ever be found in the White House. And no matter how hard you try, you can't take your money with you when you die.

White post 4

GALILEO LOOKED AT THE EXACT SAME STARS THAT I AM LOOKING AT. WHAT?1!??!22NEQIURHT8EW

White post 3

The other day a young boy waited until I was all the way up the staircase and still held the door for me. What a nice young lad. Humanity is not dead.

Madie 9

Eternity isn't some later time. Eternity isn't a long time. Eternity has nothing to do with time. Eternity is that dimension of here and now which thinking and time cuts out. This is it, this is it. If you don't get it here you won't get it anywhere and the experience of here and now is the function of life. -Cyne

Madie 8

A dream:
I was in a mental hospital and had no idea why I was there. Everything was white and even the workers were dressed in all white. I tried to talk to them and ask why I was there, but they ignored me and didn't even appear to be hearing me.
They began to move all of us patients from our rooms down the hall to a large room that looked like a high school cafeteria, except everything was white and pristine. On each of the "lunch" tables they had many blank sheets of paper and some markers. They sat us down and gave us no instructions.
All of us soon were bored and felt compelled to write and/or draw. I started to scribble psycho therapy all over my paper. Looking around I saw "bad brains", "I wana be sedated", "here today gone tomorrow", "now I wana sniff some glue", "gimme gimme shock treatment", and many more Ramones songs/lyrics.
The people working began to notice what was being written and were trying to shuttle us all out and back to our rooms in a hurry. I was trying to tell them it was all songs, but once again they acted as if they couldn't hear me. They began to take me the opposite direction of all the rooms, and I had no idea where they were taking me. Then I heard some girl screaming "you're gonna kill that girl" and I started to panic.
Then I woke up.

Bergeron Post 9

I was listening to the song Kill v. Maim by Grimes and I realized how utterly strange she is. Her voice and style are just plain weird (Like seriously this song is wild). Weird enough to make me think that she's some kind of alien who's been sent to earth to deliver some sort of important message to humanity, but the only way she can communicate with us is through techno-pop.

Reid 9

I wonder what humans would do if we found alien life but we were the more advanced life form. I'd like to think we would be peaceful, but somehow I doubt that we would be.

Donaher week 9

"If a bull got an eye shot out, would the archer have scored a bullseye?"
       - The last words of Edric St. Petersface, who met his tragic end in a comedy club full of legally blind bovine customers.

Jain 9

Story Idea: Two characters. Walking on beach. Dialogue. Meeting after years. Tragedy in the past of both of their lives. Talking to try to get over it.  

Mahtews 9

I spelled my name wrong but I'm too lazy to go back and change it.

Today, my friend gave me a story idea: A man has a pile of sticky notes and each time he writes a wish on one, it gets granted. But with each sticky note he uses, his lifespan decreases. This is coming from the same guy who walked around after school eating a lettuce.

lauren post 9

Today I lay in an orb of sun that decided to join me in my room. I was listening to some soft piano music, and then when I opened my eyes, three hours had gone by, and the globe of light had deepened into a dusty rose-gold and had moved elsewhere.
I gazed at the hazy dusk hues waltzing around the room, every inch of the wall, ceiling, and carpet their personal dance floor. Rose and indigo held each other close, and I lay in the shadow of vermillion and violet while they wove a tapestry of emotion above my head.
Watching the twilight crescendo into this dance of colors and then slowly meld into the night electrified every molecule of air with a sort of limerence almost, and it was so beautiful that while I know there was a philosophical life metaphor wiggling and singing in its own dance behind the curtain of colors, I was too entranced to think about much else--I was stitched into the tapestry.
It was just a really beautiful moment.

O'Neal Post 9

What does how we wear headphones say about us? Does one earbud in signify openness to the world, the desire to not miss anything, or something else? Do both earbuds in signify introspection or ignoring the world?

Hackley 9

• Do you realize that we bury people in tuxedos and dresses so the zombie apocalypse will be a formal event?  

Kristen Kim Post 9

Do you ever wonder if the world actually ended on December 21, 2012? What if we're just ghosts who don't know that we're dead and we're just wandering around deluded into thinking that we're alive? That might explain a lot.

Gregg 9

Why does love have to be a strictly romantic thing? You can love your partner, your dog, your bed, your car, the soup your mom makes when you're sick, your best friend, and anything else imaginable. Sure you love all of those things in completely different ways, but it's still love.

Sydney Kim Post 9

Raspberries are the princesses of fruit. They're super delicate. You can't even run them under water or they'll fall apart. But then again so do blackberries, and strawberries, and blueberries. Maybe we're all little fragile fruit princesses.

Victoria Lee Post 8

My friend Lily loves to read about crazy, outlandish people and their insanity. I like to read about average, normal people and their insanity. I guess we all love to read about insanity.

Gregg 8

If I miss you when I'm 5 miles away, what will it be like when I'm 2000 miles away?

Will the amount of distance really affect anything, or is it just the concept of every added mile that makes it seem so much worse?

Kevin Brooks Post 6/VI

It's worthy of insanity when somebody restricts you from doing something "because they said so", without even giving a valid reason. Unless it affects themselves, they shouldn't have a right to restrict you from doing something without a valid reason.

Mathews 8

I realized while typing the previous journal that people could say “Here’s a present for your birthday AND christmas!” It’s happened before but I’ve never really noticed. That sucks. A lot.

Chinchilla: Week 8

From a dream:
I was watching TV when a music video came on. Lecrae and Flame, two r
appers, started rapping a song I did not know. The first verse was Lecrae, then came the chorus sung by a woman with short black hair which was longer on the top. After the chorus Flame took the second verse. The girl then sang a bridge which ended in a spoken word verse by Lecrae as the string instrumental slowly faded out.
I woke up in the living room on my couch after my nap and didn't think anything of my dream. A few minutes later I realized that I was singing the song. The song did not exist and as I went to write it down it all drained from my head and I could not think of even the tune. The song was lost forever in my dream, and I hope that someday it will come back to me.

Christina Prato #8

Basking in the crisp autumn air, leaves gently rustled on the concrete while swaying farther away from me. As my sweeter was blowing and my hair pulling back from the perfect fall day wind, i thought- could life get any more beautiful?

Garrett post 8

Ten years ago, I realized that I would live a very long life and wouldn't be able to remember every little moment because they would be replaced with more important ones by my brain.
So I looked at the lamp dangling down from my ceiling, attempting to download the whole entire image like a picture into my mind to never forget.
I tried to remember that image for a week straight, hoping I would remember it for the rest of my life even when the context was lost. It worked, and ten years later it's as if it was yesterday.

Christina Prato #7

If you be yourself, all of the puzzle pieces will eventually fall into place.

Dinoher week 8

Dream: Jurassic World. A kid falls off that tram thing and is left behind despite chasing after it and yelling. So, in order to survive, he lives amongst the dinosaurs and climbs trees to escape the nasty ones. Dinosaurs include the Raptor Squad and triceratops This goes on for a week until the kid finally reaches the gates. BUT WAIT! He can't just knock on the door. Something fishy was going on here. Something baryonyx-y, if you will. The kid fell off the tram, but there were no search parties. There must be some sort of conspiracy. He decides to go back into the forest and discovers the Alpha of the Raptor Squad, but it's not Chris Pratt. The kid tells Not-Chris-Pratt that something suspicious is going on. Not-Chris-Pratt agrees, and they go off to solve the mystery. The dream ends after that, presumably because Chris Pratt is not in it and therefor not worthy of continuation.

Christina Prato #6

Why must society be so judgmental? How will we be able to fix the view of the world? it's impossible.

Reid 8

"Oh man! I wish I could go back in time and just change that"

I would never want to go back in time to change anything. Our experiences make us who we are if we ant back in time to change every mistake or embarrassing thing our future and present selves would changes. Our experiences help us grow and become who we are If I went back in time and changed all my mistakes I wouldn't be me.

Christina Prato #5

Music can be a good escape from reality. It can clear your mind to help you feel better.

Waszak 8

Why is it that our bodies need specific sleeping conditions every night.. because it gives me anxiety that my roommate in college will not abide by my special sleeping things(which the survey can't cover) and it will stress me out all year long. #collegestressesmeout!!11!!!

Nelson Post 8

We must remember to never blindly trust or accept authority. Authority can be wrong and the only thing empowering them is us.

Wiser VIII

What if a vengeful spirit of November decided to punish those who tried to make the start of November the start of Christmas?

Bergeron post 8

An excerpt from the voice of a character: "Al I can hope is that he gets some sleep tonight. That's all I want. He's gonna turn into a ghost one of these  days, and I think he'll still be sleepwalking then."

Kristen Kim Post 8

Do you ever look at something and think that you're a witness to something that will go down in history? Things are happening right now that will revolutionize society and some day people are going to learn about them in classes, hear about them in lectures, read about them in books. It might just be words and fragments that don't matter to them, but you get to watch these phenomenons happen, you are lucky enough to see it as all goes down.

Christina Prato #4

Smile at someone that you don't know because you can make someone's day.

O'Neal Post 8

Nudity is such a strange taboo. We all have genitalia, we all know what's going on down there- so why is it so unspeakable that you can't say "penis" without the room erupting in nervous giggles?Does this quirk add to the human experience/culture, or does it add to the already restrictive set of societal constraints?

Brooks 8/VIII

If the gameplay of a game was as good as some of their cinematics videos, they'd be a lot harder to put down.

Hackley 8

• Love slaves, use your parents credit cards to buy vodka, had to fart really bad in front of girlfriend and ran away, crapped his pants in second grade, belly-drumming and head patting, doesn’t have a brain because his head makes a noise when he hits it= the things that Mr. Humphrey has taught us

Jain #8

A Story idea: a story about someone writing a story. What is going through their minds as they go through the writing process? Where do they struggle? Where do they have a spark of light?  Why are they writing the novel. 

Lauren 8

Have you ever had a moment where everything just fell into place? When the broken links welded back into a strong chain, the final piece secured in the puzzle, when every inner dimension aligns to open up the path to destiny? 

It's really a beautiful moment. 

Rochon Post 8

The best thing to do when you're sad is hug a dog. They listen with open ears, responsive tenderness and unjudgemental courtesy. Dogs truly are a man's best friend.

Sydney Kim Post 8

Apparently there was a really good sermon at church the other day. I tried to think back to it, and realized I had been sleeping during that service. Catching up on some sleep that had eluded me the night before. Sleep is important. But so is God.

It is imperative to find a balance between everything that is important.

Rochon Post 7

If no one had a conscious regarding conversation topics, what do you think would be said?