He turned the key in the lock and opened the door. To his horror, he saw… (Part 1)

May I just say, my first thought (well, after something frightening) was the crazy aunt from Uninvited guest (http://lynneklet.blogspot.com/2012/09/uninvited-guest.html which for some reason is my most viewed post… I like the story, but I don’t completely understand why it’s the most popular). Anyway, let’s do something different, but still unexpected.

            He turned the key in the lock and opened the door. To his horror, he saw… the mess his roommate had left. Not just dirty dishes in the sink, but clothes everywhere, dirty clothes, dirty boxers of all things! His roommate, Josh, was more of a neat freak than he was, but he had told Josh that he was bringing his girlfriend over to their apartment for the first time. He should have known that Josh was too much of a prankster to be nice.

            He turned back to Jessica, “Just a second. My roommate left a bit of a practical joke.”

            Jessica smiled, “I can take it.”

            “No,” Kevin blurted out, closing the door as she tried to look around him. “It’s more like a…just wait here.”

            Kevin rushed into the apartment and picked all the clothes as quickly as possible. As a bit of revenge, he put them on Josh’s bed even though it wasn’t Josh’s dirty laundry. That choice would probably come back to bite him later on, but Kevin didn’t care right now.

Something wrapped

I guess I’m supposed to write about something wrapped. I feel like going unconventional…

            I’m sure we’ve all heard the phrase, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift, that’s why they call it the present.” (Do they have that phrase in other languages?)

            But how do you unwrap the gift that is today? I mean, gifts don’t do any good if they are always wrapped and never used. Or is today unwrapped when you take off your pajamas? And that raises a whole bunch more questions and disturbing pictures, so let’s just skip over those and say that most people would consider the days they get to stay in their pajamas a gift (but not the days they only get to stay in them because their sick. Those days are no fun).

            Is it unwrapped when you first open your eyes? Some people open their eyes in the morning like the door is being opened to let their executioner in. But that is kind of the point. Not everyone sees the value of every gift. Just because we aren’t excited when opening the gift doesn’t mean it won’t be great.

            Yeah, I like that idea. I want to open my eyes in the morning like I’m opening the best gift in the world. I want to think of every morning being Christmas or my birthday. I want to value every day that way. Because everyday isn’t everyday, it’s today, another day to live, love, laugh, and experience all life has to offer. Some days seem big, but are they really better than the everyday?

Good versus evil

            Not super excited about this prompt, but it is what I pulled from the bucket. Not sure I was really feeling creative anyway… So here we go!

Does it truly exist?

            Yes. There are the good people fighting to keep the English language alive and those who try to kill it. It is sad, but it is true. Our schools are battle grounds with this fight, along with math being important and history doomed to repeat itself. (shaking my head)

What are the gray areas?

            The naïve people who just don’t realize how vital this battle is. They are not evil, but neither do they fight for the good.

Do good people do bad things?

            Sadly, yes. And I am ashamed to say that I am sometimes one of them. No matter how I try, sometimes I misspell words or use improper grammar. I am sorry for my failures, but I do believe in the good fight to save the English language! Stand with me.

Remarkable experience

            I’ve written about being a music major, but I don’t think I’ve ever written about the amazing experience that lead me to that. And that is a very weird way to put what I’m about to describe… It’s been one of those weeks…

            So, I was a freshman in college—actually, I don’t think classes had officially started yet… meh, details (No, classes had started. I was wearing a green shirt and a black skirt, so that I looked a bit dressy for the audition but not over dressed for classes)—and I was re-auditioning to be a music major. A few weeks/months before that I had found out that I was pre-music. I thought that I was just an undeclared major because I hadn’t been accepted into the music program. Well, for this audition, it was just me and the man who would be my private lessons teacher for clarinet. We were in his office which never seemed large because he had a desk and filing cabinet, but mostly it was the table-display-case-thingy that took up the most room. It had old clarinets and the like in it.

             So, I start playing this piece and it’s not good. My tone is eh, I don’t have any confidance, it’s just not at all up to par for being a music major. And then I get to a note in the middle that is held for a measure or two, and it is beautiful. It has the air support, and the tone is nice, and nothing like what I had sounded like. It was just that one note, but I’m sure that that is the only reason I was allowed to stay pre-music.

            Looking back on that moment, I can imagine my teacher doing his amazed face that I eventually learned. He would lean forward and his eyes would bug out. He was probably wondering, “Where did that come from?!”

            Anyway, without that one beautiful note in a sea of gibberish, I would probably never have made it into the music program. And though I wasn’t a music major for long, I know it’s lead me to some great places and introduced me to some truly amazing people.

Purse

"Ow!" She said as he squeezed her shoulders a little too tightly. A back massage had been a nice idea, but her back was too stiff for his rough hands.
"Do you have anything but knots on your back?" he asked.
"I don't think you can squeeze the knots away," she retorted with a twitch of pain.
He continued the rub. "They have to be worked out. It's not my fault your back is so bad."
"Are you blaming me for the pain?"
"Yes," he answered. "You are the one who chooses to carry around a heavy purse and lift things with your back."
Her face cringed. "We live in a dry climate, I need to carry around a water bottle. It's not even that big of a water bottle."
"And at least one book--"
"You never know when there might be time for reading!"
"And sunglasses, nail clippers, GPS, wrist brace--"
"I'm prepared for anything!"
He turned her around to facing him. "What don't you have in that purse? Duct-tape fixes everything, do you carry that around too?"
She gave him an innocent smile, "There have been times when I have."
"No," he said in disbelief. "Why would you carry around duct-tape?!"
"It is really helpful when dancing barefooted on hardwood flooring."
He rolled his eyes, "You would probably look like a kidnapper or criminal. You don't have a pocketknife in there, do you?"
"Don't be silly," she told him. "That goes in my pocket."
He looked at her with disbelief so she pulled out her small pocketknife and laughed at his expression.

Note to self

So, I don’t know if you’ve ever done this for a class or anything, but every once in a while I’ll write a letter to myself to look at a year or so later. Sometimes I realize how temporary or silly I was, and other times I realize how wise I used to be, and why am I not like that now?! Most of the time, it’s a combination of both. I didn’t write a date on this letter, but it was from about 3 or 4 years ago. I just thought I’d share it with you for something different today.

Dear me,

1^st things 1^st: make sure God’s 1^st in your life & is the reason your [sic] doing things. Don’t continue w/ this letter till you ask His forgiveness & thank Him for everything—even what seems bad. I wish you’d pray nightly, keep a religious journal, & read more (in & out of the Bible).

I’, not sure if you’re a music major or not, but never forget that 1^st semester & the lessons you’ve learned. Don’t procrastinate! Life [is] so short, be thankful for every moment you’re given. Be there for it, feel it, trust yourself & believe & hope & above all else LOVE!

Not so long ago you were so in love w/ life & maybe even a guy, you praised God & you were willing to give everything to that guy.

And that’s all I wrote. I guess I got distracted by something else I had to do.

So, yeah. There’s me. Me before I was an English major…

I want to feel

I want to feel

I want to feel real

to know my life is real

know it really means something

I want to feel loved

not just told I’m loved

I want it proven beyond a doubt

so I will never forget that moment

that it was proven to me

I want to feel more

more than myself

more than what I’ve felt

more than I can hold inside

I want to explode

I want everything I’ve held inside

to become my outside

I want to share it all

I want to let go

to stop pretending

that I’m the one

in control

I want to feel like myself

not who I think I should be

not who I want to be

not who others want me to be

but simply me

I want to allow myself to feel

to feel everything

to feel nothing

to be everything

to be nothing

to hold it all

with open hands

and not cry

when it flies away