-
The person you choose to be
Quick thought: “The good old days” is an illusion. I’m sure we’ve always had terrible people among us — we just didn’t have all these social media to blow it up right in your face, as well as, apparently, some of the worst of people with some type of “influence” encouraging such behaviors. We had time to breathe back then, it seems. We had time and space to believe the world was a certain way…because we couldn’t see all of it at once. Now that we can see, it’s up to us to choose what person we’re going to be. So what person will you choose to be?
-
Mixed feelings and life itself
Are you ever torn between “I don’t give a f*ck” and “I felt that too much”? Entirely. Because I completely hear you if you are. There are millions of us who can connect with that sentiment. (And there’s an even more inclined crowd, like this self-proclaimed poet, who feels everything even deeper.) I’ve known cold and shallow, and I’ve known warmth and depth. So, trust me — not everyone can relate to the way you see misunderstandings, disappointments, hurt, harm, and beyond. But to those who can relate: I understand. I know what it is like to be misunderstood, when all you want is just to at least be heard.…
-
Raw material for writers?
I love quoting these words by Sylvia Plath because they strike a chord within me every time, and I bet within most storytellers. It goes like this: I love people. Everybody. I love them, I think, as a stamp collector loves his collection. Every story, every incident, every bit of conversation is raw material for me. My love’s not impersonal yet not wholly subjective either. I would like to be everyone, a cripple, a dying man, a whore, and then come back to write about my thoughts, my emotions, as that person. But I am not omniscient. I have to live my life, and it is the only one I’ll…
-
Chosen for you
Stay positive twenty-four seven Brush your teeth in case you stay a while Respect the law, follow the rules, society is king Pick a religion; freethinking is frown upon Show a smile, apologize for your biological mess You did not ask, you had no clue, but now you’re here, be thankful for food, family, friends, and the roof over your head; you had no plans but it was all set, lucky you wipe off your tears ‘cause god forbid you look sad over pondering of what makes sense, what’s best for you ‘cause one lifetime isn’t all good If you didn’t follow all the rules you must do good or…
-
Up in the air but eyes on the prize
It was a weekday. Before I opened my eyes, I felt one of my arms wrapped around some big, firm but soft shape. Slowly, my heavy eyes still closed, I ran my hands up and down trying to use my sense of touch to make up what it was, and why it was in my bed. When I couldn’t immediately tell what it was, eyes still closed, I went into my head and tried to unbox the memories from the night before. Nothing. Better open my eyes then, I thought. And as unready as I was to face the sunlight lighting up the room, I squinted. “Oh,” I said. “Right.”…
-
Your calling: Try not to hang up
I saw a beautiful rotary dial telephone in Spain and it inspired me to want to write a verse or two. But when I met the blank page, no words I loved made it out of my head. There was, though, this other thought about the different calls; the calls we miss and our callings in life. That thought got me further thinking, what is even one’s true calling? And, how do we know it is it, once we “figure it out”? Can we trust that feeling? Because I left my comfort zone long ago, crossed continents, climbed up hundreds of stairs, changed my hair, learned new languages, shifted my…
-
Gone Good Old Twitter
I’ve always joked about how “influencers” and Instagram models are going to be so homeless if, one day, IG simply disappears. With its ever-changing algorithm, I’ve always thought of it as a yet another very fleeting moment in time. Because, let’s be honest, IG seems to be the least reliable of all social networks when it comes to promoting your work… or so I thought. Little did I know it would actually be, what I used to call, my “home base” that would suddenly become the most troubled of all platforms. I’m talking about Twitter, of course. Why does it even matter? Well, for those of us who grew up in…
-
Another Reason (I Don’t Need)
I don’t need another reason to remember why I hide. I don’t need another reason to remind me why I chose this single life; that I’ve been running all this time. I don’t need another reason to question my choice or regret the detours I take when I hear your voice. I don’t need another reason to hate your indifference, or my senseless devotion and the inevitable effects of oxytocin. I don’t need another reason to fool my intelligence, to lie to my family, my friends, my readers, my own goddarn self who knows the truth deep in her heart. I don’t need another reason to prove me right; and…
-
The Era of The Influencer
One good thing about trends is that, eventually, they fade. Why is it a good thing? Some trends are so terrible that they need to make their way out as fast as they made their way in. I have respect for people who saw an opportunity in a movement and made a living out of it, but I’m biased, I must say. If it’s something that influences people in a negative way; I’m not buying it, I’m not for it, I’m not supporting it, and I don’t think others should. To be very direct, the dieters, the anti-vaxxers, the conspiracy theorists, and everybody else selling false happiness (and excessive pizza…
-
Pride: A Poem
When I think back to all I’ve had and how I blew it and the things they ruined, and how hard it can be to repair a feeling so fleeting but so filling, there’s almost always been this culprit and it’s impulsive and repulsive and most of all, destructive. Some people inherit it and some are lucky enough not to know it or admit it, that they fit in the description and definition of the egocentric. Pride it is called, and you’d be enthralled by the power it has on you and how it’d change your views of a potentially good relationship between you two or the new ones you…
