LiterallyUnknown

 This is probably the first writing assignment in a long time that I’ve enjoyed writing because our teacher gave us the option to write it in English. It’s been so long since I’ve gotten to do anything in English so you better believe that I’d jump on that opportunity right away. But this particular assignment is special because we’re going to put them in a envelope and mail them to ourselves in the past. The day right before the aliens take over. Oh, sorry, spoiler alert. I should probably backtrack a bit, since I’m going to be reading this whole thing in the past. I am currently in my second year of N

    Khalid’s heart pounded in his throat.    “On your marks.”    He lowered into a runner’s stance at the starting line, sweat beading on the back on his neck. His entire future was at stake. He had been the one that refused to back down, which is what had led to the duel challenge. If he lost, his pride would be tarnished. He’d never be able to show his face in the village again.    “Get set.”    He glanced to his right, looking nervously at his opponent, who glared back at him from the corner of her pupil-less eye. Her name was Nyri, and she had been friends with Khalid since they were kids. It

It’s all your fault. Don’t look at me like that, don’t just wave your cigarette with that same old scornful gesture I’ve been seeing since forever. There you were, smiling condescendingly, looking at me through your eyelashes just like you’re looking at me right now, with that same exasperating grin you use indistinctively to mock me or console me. You knew from your pedestal that you could turn my life upside down with just one fleeting smile. And you didn’t give a shit about anything. You don’t give a shit about my pathetic, disastrous self. You looked down at me from you heights, you saw me stuck n

Thoughts swirl in radiant colors Strings hum vibrating sounds In my mind's eye my song's envisioned I grasp each note, then write it down Haphazardly the music and words collide inside my head The harmonies afloat so free The lyrics soft accompanying it All is up in the air - abstract - and more than likely to be changed I attempt to isolate what's passing brilliance Before things are faded - lost - and can't be found again... With each chord, each verse; My masterpiece is slowly breathed into most vivid life And when at last the melody is full and free... It feels complete And so do I

Shit happens for a reason. My father had picked me up from the ACE house at Lake Tahoe, upon which we went to a scenic overview of Lake Tahoe showing my dad the 22 mile hike I had done the day before. We stopped at the overview for about 30 minutes before we decided to head back to Fairfield. About an hour of driving we had just passed the town of Strawberry when the car started to give out very quickly, stranding myself and my father off the side of the road for about 2 hours till the tow-truck driver arrived. At first I immediately noticed that the driver seemed agitated about the whole ordeal, all business-like with no sense of humor. We

How long will you look away? Tell me, how long must I endure this pain? Yours is the only name etched on my heart My love, my life, my shining star; My sight takes you in but leaves me with scars Yet still you're everything to me... The path I chose The air I breathe... I have rearranged so much for you And I have thrown so much away I've done everything you wanted me to And I've not regretted it one day... But why is it that now I find that we have been estranged? And I am constantly replaying memories searching for what made you slip away? I love you so, and I've tried and tried to pull you back to me... But no matter how far my arms ar

This is a copy of the speech I gave at the St. Vincent de Paul conference on February 14, 2017 in Victoria, BC, Canada. Hello, my name is Erin Watling. I am a 29 year old gender-neutral adult. I work as a cashier and dishwasher at A&W, and in my spare time I volunteer at AIDS Vancouver Island and create art and poetry. I graduated from the Community Mental Health and Addictions Support Worker program at Camosun College in 2009. When I was four years old I was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome. When I was 22 years old I was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I was 23 years old I was diagnosed with a type of high functioning