Pillow Talk

I have come to the conclusion that tonight is not going to be filled with dreams, but instead it will be filled with overflowing thoughts.  Maybe I'm just thinking too hard about how many hours of sleep I will get if I fall asleep RIGHT NOW. Or maybe I had too much coffee today.  Maybe I just can't get comfortable.  Who knows?  Maybe it's a good thing that I am not sleeping right now, like I'm being saved from a dismal dream.  Maybe if I just get up and walk around for while.  If thoughts just worked like a light switch then I wouldn't have to worry until the switch went bad.  Tomorrow is a big day, but I still have yet to fall asleep.  These unorganized thoughts are invading my brain, like a flow of red sauce on spaghetti..  What?  Now that I think of it I can't remember if I had dinner. Maybe that's why I can't sleep.  This is driving me insane, but it's whatever.

6 word memoir

Live Dangerously or Not at All

Dream Threads

    Either the lock keeps turning and it won't lock, or the door won't meet the frame and there is a huge gap, making it impossible. Or maybe it's because I am so shaky from being nervous and excited at the same time. I have waited thirteen years for this day. At the age of five, I would jump off of the top bunk with a trash bag and pretended that I was falling thousands of feet instead of just four or so. After I finally figured out the whole door situation, I finished getting ready in no time. I am on my way to pick Cloe up and hoping she won't back out. I kind of pressured her into jumping out of a plane, but I'm not even sorry. We aren't really sure what to do before we head out of town, or what our "last meal" should be. We are driving around then all of a sudden a cop does a U-turn and pulls us over. I've never gotten a speeding ticket before but I guess that is changing today. I tell the officer that I didn't know the speed limit and ask him if that was the problem. He doesn't say anything. Then Cloe tells him that we are just excited to go skydiving today. Still no word from the cop, until he hands me the ticket for almost one hundred dollars and says "have fun kids". Right like getting a 97 dollar ticket is my definition of fun. It's whatever I'm not about to let a ticket ruin today. Subway is right next to us, so we are pulling
in for that last meal. Fast forward, we are in Bolivar at 417 Skydive.
We are signing all of the papers and then, finally I am getting into the plane. The door opens and I can't believe this is finally happening, like a dream come true. As I fall, I thought nothing would catch me.

Caged bird inspired poem

I don't know why mistakes act as caged birds,
but they always seem to make a sound.
They scream and scream with their fearful trill,
and then eventually someone opens the doors,
clueless of what lies ahead.
Then they become free again,
destroying everything in their path
without a care.
a good day turned dismal,
without any warning
but hey it's whatever

If I were in charge of the world...

If I were in charge of the world,
I'd cancel unsweetened tea,
bean bag chairs,
savings accounts and also...
Donald Trump.

If I were in charge of the World,
there'd be free Netflix for genuinely nice people,
and all the time in the world to watch your favorite shows. 

If I were in charge of the world,
you wouldn't have leggings made in XXXL.
You wouldn't have people going to the gym just for the perfect selfie. 
You wouldn't have diets that no one actually follows.
Or "watch your calorie intake."
You wouldn't even have calories. 

If I were in charge of the world, 
a roll of sushi with extra cream cheese would be a vegetable. 
Or better yet, all food would be considered "the right choice."
and a person who sometimes forgot where they left their keys,
and sometimes forgot to lock the door behind them,
would still be allowed to be in charge of the world.

Maya Angelou Q&A

1.) We talked about the title of Maya Angelou's first autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.  What did Angelou say is the reason a caged bird sings?  What does that mean?  Do you agree with or understand that idea?

Angelou said that the caged bird sings for freedom.  I think this could mean a lot of different things but this time I am going to try and go with a less cliche version.  I think that she means when something or someone is holding you back you complain and whine but that doesn't get you anywhere, and that you have to actually try to knock the barriers down.  It could also mean that the bird has hope and is singing with happiness that one day her dreams will become true. Maybe the bird is just daydreaming of flying with the flock one day.  I guess I don't really understand the idea because I have so many thoughts on what the significance of it all could be. I do think you should stand up for yourself and that you should really try hard to knock down any barriers that get in your way to reach whatever goal you are trying to achieve. 

3.) Angelou says she doesn't even like to talk about her bad dreams because talking about them "gives them too much power."  Do you think talking about bad dreams or bad news or other bad things (or feeding into the "drama" at school or in life) gives those bad things more power?  When have you known this to happen?

I think that talking about bad dreams or other bad things is okay and that you shouldn't bottle every bad thing up inside. I used to do that but then I met my best friend and she helps me get through bad things or helps me laugh about bad dreams later.  I think that some bad things are just too strong to keep inside and that it feels better to just tell someone. In my opinion not talking about them is the most power you can give them because when you bottle them up you have no support system to help you and no one knows whats going on. 


5.)  After going through a major trauma at age seven, Angelou didn't talk for almost five years.  Could you live this way?  Do you talk too much or too little?  What could you learn if you listened more and spoke less?  How could you grow as a person by speaking more?

I would not be able to stop talking for almost five years.  When I was that age my family would make bets during road trips to see how long I could go without talking. I think my record was three hours but I may have fallen asleep in that. Usually the trip was to see family.  As funny as it might seem I only talked in front of my household family. I didn't really care to learn the names of all of my cousins because I have so many and for a while I was the youngest. If I would have talked more at things like family reunions I think I would have better relationships with all of my cousins today. At the same time though the age gaps are pretty big and we all live in different states so that makes it hard too. I usually just got to know them by sitting with my aunts and uncles and listened to them talk about their kids. I guess I don't really know how to answer this question but I'm just going to wing it and say that there is a time to talk and a time to just stay silent. I think what Maya Angelou did was a little over the top but that it was also brave in a way.  On those car rides with my family they always tried to get me to talk, so I can't imagine all of the people that tried to get her to talk and rather or not it was hard to stay silent. It's a hard thing to understand. 

6.) Angelou says she is comfortable using six or seven languages, has spoken at one time or another as many as twelve, and has been a teacher in at least three.  Are you comfortable using another language?  Which languages would you like to be fluent in?  Why those?  Or do you think speaking English is good enough because you live in America and that's all we should need to live here?  Why?

As of right now I only know English, and even that gets overwhelming sometimes.  I couldn't imagine being fluent in multiple languages.  I know the very  basics of Spanish but I mean who doesn't? The one language that I really wish I knew is sign language. It's always fascinated me and I feel like it would come in handy. Even if I end up working at McDonald's the rest of my life, because we have some customers that we have to have right down their order and I always feel bad for not knowing how to communicate any other way with them.  I don't know of anyone who knows sign language and who would be patient enough to teach me but I sure would like to give it a shot. 

Blue

The Colors of your Emotions

Once upon a time there was a little monster who had blue tears falling from his eyes. He was crying because he was cyan. His whole family was perriwinkle but he was not. They would not accept him. His whole family had been the same color for years and years. They couldn’t figure out why he was so different.

One day when his family was being especially mean to him he turned red. He was very angry and couldn’t figure out why he was turning a new color. This had never happened before. His family didn’t know why he was turning mahogany. The angrier he got, the darker he got. They wouldn’t stop making fun of him. He decided right then and there that he would run away from home and he would find other monsters who would appreciate him.

After a while his journey started to wear on him and he started turning a shade of green. He became exhausted and sad. As his journey went on his color got all the way to pine. He was very disappointed on his findings. Until one day, over the horizon he saw something. He saw many different colors all over the place. He decided to see what it was.

He didn’t know it at the time, but he was going to turn yellow. Once he finally got to there the rainbow of colors were at, he found a community of monsters just like him. They didn’t stay the same color all the time. They changed colors according to their emotions just like the little monster! He turned the brightest shade of aureolin anyone has ever seen. He was finally happy. He found where he belonged at last and lived happily ever after in his community of rainbows.