Life is usually what you make it.
Life is usually what you make and not what it seems.
Back in 2016, I was trying really hard to get into the university. I stayed in Lagos with an uncle I didn't have too much of a relationship with.
It was one of those weird relationships where you have an uncle of an uncle on your mom's side. That was this weird relationship we had.
It didn't take long for that relationship to go sour and when it did, he was extremely happy to almost politely send me away. This was no fault of mine by the way and I just rolled with the punches.
I went back home to my parent's thinking my life was over until it wasn't.
Getting admission which later happened was the best thing. Its been hard all through but I finally finished.
I am adding this little back story and filling up pieces of information so you will be informed on what comes next.
Fast forward to six years after gaining admission, a full corona break, strikes and I am finally done or so I would like to believe.
I'm finishing up my project and that would conclude my partnership with this amazing school ***(Sarcasm)***
I have been through it all and much like anyone else, school is not easy.
I'll be publishing another article that details the madness I have to navigate through just to get but that's for another day.
So, I had such a fun this last weekend that I was sure the universe was going to throw a shitty Monday in my face. Well, I don't know about you but if you had to watch your supervisor talk shit about you, slam the door in your face and all that, you would know that I never have my judgements about the universe backwards.
It all started when I got the meanest person in the entire department for a supervisor.
Since then, I have not been able to get this man to like me. I am quite likeable too 😭
Monday was chaotic for me. At the time I'm writing this, 18:14 PM which will be different from when I'm posting, I'm standing beside his car, waiting for him to attend to me.
It usually goes better but most of the time, it doesn't.
I'm starting to think he doesn't like me very much. After spending four months on the field doing research, I have been chasing him just to approve certain chapters in my final project. A project I should have been done with seeing as I signed out of school about five months ago.
In light of my very great week, I was convinced that I would have a very annoying Monday.
I wasn't wrong either. I'm still sleeping with one eye open. I wrote all about it in my previous post (here) https://read.cash/@Stefthewordsmith/today-making-the-best-of-it-f68b916d
The security level is not all that and I've not been having too much sleep. Getting used to this and still trying not to be grumpy during the day is a superpower that no one is ready for.
I had to stop writing until after he attended to me. It's 19:05 PM, Monday and I am overwhelmed by the corrections he has to make on my perfectly good project.
Anyways, I have decided that I would not be suckered into his game.
Wednesday, 19:44PM, I am picking up the article from my saved drafts again. I decided I was going to see him on Tuesday to finalize my chapter 4 and then do a brief discussion for the chapter 5 to round it all up by apparently he had other things in mind.
He asked me to come early that morning which I did. My vision was that I would be done with the chapter by that day's end and by today. I would be on chapter 5. I'm mentally inserting a phrase of how the evil he is and destroys perfectly good plans.
I came all prepared for work and he had other ideas in mind. Firstly, he put me on data inputting. Not my cup of tea by the way but I did that for four hours. Afyer that, he spends an hour telling me how bad I've been and advising me on marriage and the likes. At that point, I was content with entering the floor which seemed more welcoming. Eventually, I had to tell him I had an appointment with my optician. I have been meaning to see one and get new glasses but my bank account is a bit on the dry side at the moment so I'm pushing that. It was the perfect cover however.
He grudgingly agreed and I left with my sanity at a very low level.
I gave myself a break from him today and I will pick up the madness tomorrow. Until then, I am breathing good air and encouraging myself with positive words.
I'm not sure what this week will bring but I really do hope its better than today.
I hope everyone has a great week ahead. 💟
All images sourced from Pixabay
Finding Beauty in your Daily life
Finding beauty in what you see everyday can be somewhat of a challenge. It is not easy to suddenly see beauty in the very streets you walk time without number. It takes a keen eye and an acute sense of placement. My point is, you need to relax your mind and see these things.
It took a while before I actually took my own advise. The road I take on my way to class, hurrying because I'm usually late 90 percent of the time. It's hard to actually walk those same paths and then realize the way the grass bends in a peculiar fashion or how the sun falls on certain areas, casting a glorious shade of gold over all the things it touches.
Today, I took a walk to appreciate everything around me. It isn't something I do a lot but I take time to do this from time to time.
Amidst trying to meet deadlines and appointments, some alone time is all but unnecessary. You need the time to do this. If you notice that you've been having a writer's block, a quick change of scenery can most undoubtedly do you good.
The first shot I'll be showing was a sunset I did not expect that actually did a lot to make my day better. I'll be posting an article which I started to write yesterday when I saw this beautiful sight. I couldn't help but just capture that moment in time. Also, in the next article, you will see why I needed the walk and how much better the sight I saw did to make me feel better.
It was there all the while and it took one turn back for me to just stop and almost yell wow. After I'd taken the shot, I still took a long while to admire the scenery.
I'd just left my supervisor's and as usual, he was the most delightful creature to be with. The sunset is something out of a Texas movie because that's where you get the most beautiful sunsets falling over the horizon in such beautiful seams. Well, this time it happened in my school, Akungba.
Okay, I have to admit, I am addicted to taking pictures with my phone. All I have to do is see something worth taking a photo of and leave it to me. This shot was taken from a bike. I was on a bike and I knew if we took a few corners more, I would not have the luxury of capturing that specific sight I saw. I think people must have stared at me like I was crazy but I didn't care. I made sure I got the shot I wanted. The clouds looked very full and beautiful and I felt it would be a crime to not capture such a moment.
It's hard to see these things and not take out my phone and snap a picture or four. I was also on a bike when I saw this and one more second, the shot would have gone for good. I quickly brought out my phone and took the shot. My camera album is filled with shots that could have escaped me but I said not going to happen.
You can call it an obsession or a hobby but I see it as a way of documenting the things I see. Kind of like taking a piece of time and making it mine. I make memories whenever I take a very wild shot or something that looks extraordinary but is well hidden in the ordinary. This was an evening that didn't look like it was going to be much but turned out to offer me some beautiful views.
Also, a moonlit night that I could not just ignore.
Whether it's by taking pictures or making a memoir. Endeavor to capture the beauty around you. I promise you, its there. You just need to look harder. Beauty is all around us. You just need to decide how you want to appreciate it or record it if you will.
Life offers us good and bad. As usually said, it also offers lemons which are not so sweet at first.It would do you well to make something out of them and recognize the beauty around you.
Thank you very much for the sponsorship @Olasquare ✊🏾
How Fitness Can Improve Learning
Increasing studies of the effects of adequate exercise has shown that keeping fit is very good for the brain. Fitness impacts your learning abilities. These studies deeply explored the connection between the brain and exercising. It found out physical exercise peaks the brain's activities and improves its functions. It was also concluded that the brain's performance, through constant exercising was improved exponentially. It increased the performance on all fronts.
Dr. John J. Ratey, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, conducted this study.
Dr. John wrote in his findings that exercise improves learning on three levels: "First, it optimizes your mind-set to improve alertness, attention, and motivation; second, it prepares and encourages nerve cells to bind to one another, which is the cellular basis for logging in new information; and third, it spurs the development of new nerve cells from stem cells in the hippocampus."
It stated that not only did constant exercise help get the brain ready to learn, it was also noted to be responsible for helping it also retain more information. It made the information retention abilities much easier, causing the learning abilities to surge greatly.
Fitness Helps
Fitness and constantly exercising helps your brain stay at its peak condition. It is very necessary to keep your body and your brain healthy by adopting a healthy exercise routine.
Exercise is also responsible for boosting mental health and can improve a student's performance in the classroom.
The research further indicated that exercise can be the best known defense against common mental health issues that students face.
As students, facing enormous stress in the educational sector is very much a normal routine.
There is the constant stress, work overload, peer pressure which can all become overwhelming to a person. Constant exercise controls all the physical feelings of stress and helps to keep it at considerable levels. Exercise also works at the cellular level. It helps the body stay alert by being constantly stimulated. Constant exercise also goes as far as warding of the effect of chronic stress. I greatly plays a huge part in normalising your stress levels and ensuring that it is not harmful to your body. Exercise and mental health work hand in hand as one functions to balance out the other. Adopting a good exercise routine has been tested and proven to be effective in this regard. Fitness can improve your cognitive abilities by balancing out the stress levels and keeping your mental health at top most priority. In addition to this, individuals that add exercise to their daily routine are known to be more socially active. This helps boost their confidence and increases their sociable skills.
Exercise basically for the body in more ways than one. It aids the brain to stay in its best condition, thus, improving things like retentive ability and enhances your chances of learning. It improves brain function by getting rid of or warding off things like stress, anxiety and other related issues that the brain battles with. Fitness can greatly improve your learning abilities. It is advisable to develop
Learning abilities are the key to academic success. Exercise has been known to release endorphins that help keep the body in a very good state.
Wealth in health is particularly important to enjoy life to the fullest. As the saying says that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. It basically depicts how adopting a lifestyle can have positive or negative effects on one's overall health.
All images sourced from Pixabay https://pixabay.com/
The Relaxation the weekend Brings: Who is the Avatar After Korra?
I thought long and hard about writing this but I'll consider writing more if the turn out is good enough. I had a really long week and I was totally looking forward to what happens this weekend. I ended up going on my first date in a while which was so much fun. I couldn't help but go through the last avatar series when I got bored and it got me thinking. What happens after this?
Surely, a lot of us know of the series and are expecting some sort of sequel of the sequel if you know what I mean. Which got me thinking.
Who is the Avatar After Korra?
Based on the natural cycle of all the four elements, it starts with Fire, Air, Water and Earth.
Avatar Roku was of fire nation descent, followed by Avatar Aang, then Korra. The Avatar after Korra is said to come from the Earth kingdom.
Although there has been no official announcement of who the next Avatar will be, we do know that the cycle will continue.
An unsettling fact about the next Avatar is that he or she would be devoid of the wisdom of the past lives. Not even Korra would be able to help the Avatar in their quest.
Near the end of The Legend of Korra's second season, a resurrected Vaatu fought against Korra and Raava. Raava is the light spirit that merged with the Avatar host.
After a series of rapid attacks, the dark spirit Vaatu forcibly removes Raava from Kora, her Avatar host body. Vaatu continues his assault on Korra until she is severed from all of her past lives. Traumatized by the loss of her connection to previous Avatars, like Aang, who might be able to assist her in saving the world and protecting people she loves. Korra marks the first Avatar in 10 thousand years of the long line of Avatars to completely be on her own.
The following years between the end of The Legend Of Korra and the reincarnation of a new Avatar will have to be navigated alone. Korra lost all ties with the previous Avatars and will not be able to help the new Avatar as the link that bonded Avatars together was severed in the battle by Vaatu.
Loss Of Past Lives
Future Avatars will not be able to access the wisdom of the past Avatars, including Korra herself. This makes her the Avatar Wan of a new cycle of Avatars that will move on henceforth.
There is also new evidence that suggests that the new Avatar will not be able to connect to his or her predecessor.
In a book that was released by Nickelodeon titled An Avatar's Chronicles, Korra and her friends gave writing advice to the new Avatar after her.
In one these letters, Korra writes, "While I know we can't let our failures define us, I am sorry that you won't have the connection with me, with Aang, and with all the lives you've lived before."
This somewhat indicates that even she too will not be able to live on through the next Avatar. But with many of the rules within the Avatar mythology still a little up in the air, it is possible that the new Avatar will attempt to reintegrate all of the Avatar's past lives.
Appearance Of The Next Avatar
So many theories have gone on to try and predict the appearance of the next Avatar. A debatable theory exists that pertains to the next Avatar's physical appearance.
Fans of both Avatar: The Last Airbender and its sequel series, The Legend of Korra may have noticed that Korra shares similar physical features with Aang's eventual love interest and long time friend, Katara. Interestingly, when looking back to the previous Avatar, Roku, one might find that his wife Ta Min also looks familiar. It is theorized that her round face and softer features are reminiscent of Avatar Aang's as a young man. While evidence to support this fact is very limited, it has been theorized that the next Avatar will share some physical features with the preceding Avatar's great love.
This theory is fueled by the choice of both Avatar series'. It basically features final shots of that series' Avatar, having saved the world, finally taking a bold new step with the person they love: Aang with Katara and Korra with Asami.
So, considering this theory, the next Avatar regardless of gender they would have should likely share some features with Asami, be it her dark hair, green eyes, skin tone and others.
Future Of The Avatar Series
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the franchise, especially with the recent departure of Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, the original creators from the live-action adaptation. They indicated that the producers and themselves could not agree on the direction to go, hence tagging creative differences as their rationale for leaving.
One thing we however know about the series is that the new Avatar will be of Earth Nation descent. He or she will have limited or no access to their previous lives. They might have some resemblance to Asami. Although there has been no official announcement on who this next Avatar will be, fans may have to wait a while before anything is said for sure. But with the reanimated fervor that came with both The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra's addition to the Netflix catalog, an answer is surely on the way.
Some background information on the Avatar Cycle.
In the world of Avatar, there are four bending styles, each harnessing the power of one of the four elements.
While Avatars are all capable of mastering all four bending arts with intense training, they are always associated with one primary element.
Taking a look back at the last four Avatars before Korra, it becomes evident that a cycle is followed. It is clear that all four of the elemental bending styles are represented.
Avatar Kuruk, an Avatar that lived around (345-312 Before Genocide or "BG"). He was primarily a waterbender
Avatar Kyoshi (312 BG-82 BG) was an earthbender. Avatar Roku was a firebender; and then Avatar Aang was an airbender.
Taking note that the most recent Avatar, Korra, is another waterbender, the pattern that is known ogten referred to as the "Avatar Cycle" will restart all over. The cycle begins to emerge. Each new Avatar's primary bending style goes in a patterned order. Fire, air, water and Earth before it restarts the cycle all over again. This means the next Avatar after Korra will be an earthbender.
There is a fan fiction that depicts a new Avatar named Jimu who is a bit on the stubborn side, just like Korra.
@Kristofferquincy might find a good read in that.
The unique thing about the Avatar Cycle and the recurring lives is how each individual has a peculiar thing about them. They ultimately have the ability to dispense great love.
From the little I've read here, I know a couple of people who have that good a heart like
@FarmGirl
@Princessbusayo
@Hadamson
@Olasquare
Thank you so much for my very first sponsorship @Kristofferquincy
I really appreciate it. 😇😇😇
Just want to thank my very first sponsor @kristofferquincy for the sponsorship 😇😇😇.
For Love & For Life: The Cost Of What We Fight For
They say peace is often underrated. The tranquility is all but appreciated; not until you get the whiff of true chaos. You don't know what you have until you lose it. Some wanted us to suffer in silence. Our parents would have us endure like they had.
"Don't sow seeds of war," they said. "It will only end badly," they droned on.
It's been over a year since we stood for what we believed in.
Nigeria 🇳🇬, the pride of Africa or at least it used to be has never remained the same.
History was really a set of agreed upon lies. It was hard to know what was true as the victors would write the story how they saw it fit.
Truth is none of us wanted to die. I mean, hardly does anyone ever right? None of us could live knowing that we could die at any point in time and no one would blink. There's a power to that you see; there's a power to that fear. It turns a harmless cat into a death machine when cornered, slashing anything in its path to be free.
We had been cornered and we refused to take it sitting down. We became the cat and we said no with a resounding voice.
The streets were filled with voices to speak against the tyranny we were under. It was awe inspiring, the way our voices came together.
"NO TO BAD GOVERNANCE." were our placards. "END BRUTALITY."
We deserved to live free of the fear they put us under. We didn't ask for much. It was bad enough that they were as useless as they come, but keeping us subdued mentally was what we couldn't just have.
For weeks, we made them pay attention to us. They started to give in to some of our demands. They addressed some of the grievances we had. We refused to back down. In just a matter of days, we funded our cause, we fed and renewed our strength, gave aid to the needed. Cases of aCCIdenTAl diSChaRGe of police weapons popped all over protest venues. Some died, some were wounded, a lot of us would be scarred for life.
Just when we thought it had become as bad as it could get, it became even worse.
Any digital evidence of the bloodbath they were about to sanction was eliminated beforehand. Signals were disrupted, cell towers were powered down & the lights were turned off. It was all planned you see; a well orchestrated dance of death.
They came in the cover of the dark. It didn't matter that we were armed with nothing but cardboard paper. The dark was their master, the moon seemed to be in coalition with them. It was like fireworks with the color of red. The screams rent the air as they opened fire on unarmed civilians who wanted nothing more than to live. They responded to our protest to end brutality with more brutality.
The air smelled of blood and despair, mothers would never know that their childrens' lives had been snuffed out. They took us apart methodologically and stacked the bodies in their vans. Actually, there was no sophistication to it; Just point your guns at the human beings and open fire was the order.
The snakes denied any responsibility for ending the lives of countless young adults. They later admitted that one person died in the unfortunate shooting.
Chaos quickly took suit and ran amok. It didn't matter that we had just been chipped at so violently, nothing could hurt our resolve.
They had tried to use hoodlums to scatter us. They soon found out that it was a foolish thing to do so they had them join us. They joined us under the guise of protesters and created chaos from our midst. That was the opening they needed to act. We were labeled hoodlums, enemies of the state and they treated us accordingly.
It didn't matter that we didn't know each other's names; I could feel every one of their pain. That night, a huge part of all of us was taken away by force.
We fell back and we fell back hard. The resolve never changed and we refused to forget. People died for us and we were not going to take that for granted. We refused to believe that we could be shot and nothing would happen.
In time we settled down with a plan. Not a coup, but a brilliant overthrow. The greedy bastards and bloodthirsty tyrants would never leave of their own volition. We settled to play their game.. and beat them.
They would not have it. They refused to believe that we had come from nowhere to upset the pEAce & pROsPeRIty the nation had been enjoying. Their words were riveting. It took all that we had not to resort to jungle justice. We strove to be better than the animals we had badly hoped to depose.
In time, we forged a future that was bright. We would only feel it a little, but we set the groundwork for what would be greater than we ever imagined.
Wistful thinking as I look into the future. The cries that we are better than the inhumanity shown thus far still echoes into the night.
I wonder if @FarmGirl has ever experienced anything like this or where @Princessbusayo was when this happened.
What about you @Kristofferquincy
I wish I could see the world the way @Olasquare sees it. With room for hope and love. Always with an optimistic view.
The world we fight for and hope to grow up in is not where we are but we stay hopeful.
*IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO DIED IN THE LEKKI MASSACRE. YOU WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN.*
Today: Making The Best Of It
Today, I almost got robbed. I don't know if almost is the right word to use but you'll see what I mean as the article proceeds. I find that I am most productive past midnight. I know that's not healthy but it would appear that I'm wired like that.
It all started with a very seemingly sunny afternoon when I got some instructions on what to do about my project.
I have been working on my final year project for a month now. Naturally, people outsource these things but the writer in me just wouldn't let me do that. With that in mind, I am handling it myself and that has been a a nightmare. I stayed up late with three alarms just incase I fall asleep at weird times.
I had a target and I needed to meet it so no sleep was the right move. It didn't help that I was completely tired and burnt out from being stressed by my project supervisor. I eventually slept off with my laptop in front of me but the fun part of my night wasn't even started yet.
I woke up around 2AM to my phone ringing. A friend called to know if I was safe and to tell me there were robbers in the area. She said they just left hers and were headed towards mine.
Holy Mother of all things sacred. I panicked. I have a fear of being robbed. I have this deep fear that I have no idea how it came to be. Except for the fact that I had a pretty traumatic experience when I was much younger. I think a collation of events gathered to shape the fear into something that holds strongly over me.
I assume she thought she was doing me a favor but I panicked and being an over thinker, my mind instantly began to think up scenarios.
"Where would they come from?"
"How do they kill people?"
Things like these began circulating my mind and it went on for an hour.
I could not sleep anymore and I could not stop shaking. It was annoying at first mostly because I'm supposed to be a "man" and all. I don't subscribe to the deception that men can't show certain emotions. It also reached deep inside my core. It tapped into my fear and the trauma I struggle so hard to keep deep down and hidden.
It was wayyy past the witching hour and I hadn't had a wink of sleep.
It didn't help that I needed to be working at that time or the fact that I was still very tired and very stressed. I could literally feel my life force draining and i just wanted to sleep.
I first tried to see movies but I could not even focus. It was usually advised to switch off all lights. How people had so many dos and don'ts for when you are about to be robbed or how not to get robbed. How people knew things to do and not do eluded me.
I bet you're thinking why didn't we call the police. After placing barricades in all the entrances, we just went back to our various rooms and started panicking. In my school, security is not exactly paramount and no one really cares, not even the police.
I started to hide my valuables but frankly, I don't have too much to lose but my gadgets which were plenty. They're literally all I have and could not afford to lose them. My insides felt like they had been upturned twice and spread in front of train tracks and walked over by a train.
Now I know that sounds weird and very vivid but that's just so you can get the idea I'm trying to paint.
For the police, we get excuses like there's no fuel in their patrol car to come help. As if that isn't bad enough. They would even suggest you don't make a sound as if you didn't know that.
Eventually, they came around 5AM after the robbers had 3 hours to do their deeds. I almost got robbed and I am just lucky they didn't come to my place.
I woke up by 7am, after sleeping by 5am. I knew today was going to be crazy and I have tried my very best to make the best of it but I just need sleep I can't get till much much later.
I woke up, had a shower, did the usual and I was already off to work before I could say "Cheese."
I'm really not sure how today went or how I seemed to everyone else but I think I handled it pretty well. Except for the ginormous eyebags which might as well be passed off as a fashion statement, I think I'm good.
I traversed the whole length of the school, doing my business and trying to make sure I finish my project on time before I have to defend it.
It's evening as at the time I'm writing this entry to talk about my night and my day. Still very sleep deprived but I'm hoping I've made the best of today to tne utmost level of my abilities.
Also, this is a sort of reminder that no matter what the day brings; you can do this.
I hope you all had a great day and of course a very nice week ahead.
@Kristofferquincy
All images sourced from Pixabay https://pixabay.com/
Depression: The Rabbit Hole of Self Sabotage
The concept of how we’re wired as being up to us is something I believe would be quite arguable. If our view of the universe is solely spawned from our perception; then isn’t it fair to say that how we eventually handle the world is not on us? He we let it affect us, how we turn out as a result, the events that wire us thus. Isn’t it safe to presume that these are happenstance beyond our influence?
Perception is the spice of life; that’s for sure. The theory of relativity also makes the world go round.
Isn’t how we see the world subject to what the world chooses to let us see? The experiences that get chucked our way.
A drunk and abusive father would go on to create a broken child that will harbor feelings of guilt, pain and regret. Was it their fault that the dad turned out that way? Is it something they did? Would they ever be good enough for anyone? Would they turn out to be a good father and mother?
They’ve known nothing but hatred so how can they give love are some of the recurring thoughts that would plague them.
How they’re wired is totally not up to them. Life dealt them different cards and by default, they become subservient to the hand they were dealt.
It drives them, plagues them for as long as they let it.
Should love ever come, would they accept it?
Personally, I think they would be trapped in a whirlpool of self sabotage, never truly believing they deserve that love.
Its almost tragic how the world works.
I’m not entirely pessimistic but the universe is one scary bedtime story.
How spring time, full of life doesn’t last and the fall comes. How the brightest, most beautiful stars eventually dies out.
How it deals the most brilliant minds with the poorest of cards.
But then you see a rainbow and you have hope. How life thrives regardless. The resilience of nature, its biggest threat, humanity. How we somewhat coexist, in spite of the madness.
To say we understand life is bogus. A farce that can never truly be backed up. Only thing we can do is perceive the world from our neighbour’s eyes and try fix it; starting with us.
If I love you as I do me, I wouldn’t hurt you right? Maybe this is a rule that just might save us all.
Depression in itself aside from how it makes you feel is cruel. It’s almost methodological and sentient that if you didn’t feel that, you’d be impressed. The mechanics of it all is diabolical to say the least. This is probably the weirdest take on depression you must have read; I know.
If you count the mental choke hold it wraps around your mind or the constant barrage of self imploding thoughts. What really does you in the most is how baffling it seems that no one notices.
How easy it is to hide it with a fake smile, a quick, 'I’m fine, you?' whenever someone asks. Surely, you’re not that good of an actor, you’d think. So, why are your silent cries going unnoticed?
Sure, some ten percent of the time, you’re found out by friends and loved ones that really know you in and out, but ninety percent of the time?
Let’s just say depression should also be referred to as a silent assassin. If that isn’t what it is, I don’t know what else.
Recently, I saw a YouTube video that made me really think. The video was about how an actress in 2013/2016 movie, Now You See Me almost drowned while playing her part. The scene involved her being chained to the floor of a shark with the water filled to the brim.
Now, the part where she gets to struggle for her life while she was drowning was supposed to be acting. Here’s the twist. She actually was drowning and writhing under water as the air gradually depleted from her lungs. The producers and the camera men were so surprised that the acting looked real. It was for her. She recounts how she almost drowned to death and all the while, the whole crew were impressed with her fabulous acting.
Depression feels that way, really. You’re drowning but everyone thinks you’re good because why not. Why wouldn’t you be good? But your mind is trapped in a loop of shame and despair if you’re lucky.
When you’re not; you usually can’t place your finger on why you feel like horse droppings. Shame that no one listens. Shame that the world is wired that way. A carefully concocted ruse where we all chant 'boss, chairman' in the end to crown it all, plastering fake smiles and well rehearsed lines.
@Kristofferquincy
You see, I’ve heard so much about the light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve caught a glimpse a few times but I don’t know if I can promise that it’s really there. I don’t know if it will get better but everyday is a gift. We have so little control over the vast extent of what this world throws at us. The little we can do is handle how it affects us. The hard times will come, almost last for long even. But nothing lasts forever and even the brightest stars eventually go out.
I know this is a weird thing to say as a final note when cheering us all up but poetic justice and what not. Go out there and break a leg giving it your best everyday.
All images sourced from Pixabay https://pixabay.com/images/search/galaxy/
Keeping up with Stefan: The Introduction.
I bellyached about what to write and how to actually begin for a couple of hours. Safe to say that I eventually decided on just going with my gut and muse it through. So, I'm guessing this would be an introductory post. A sort of how to, wiki, a prognosis of things to expect going forward.
So, what to expect here on this page? Frankly, I'm not completely sure but if there's one thing I do really well is sharing my thoughts and having interacted with a lot of people on read.cash, I realize that so many beautiful minds exist.
My Hobbies
The first thing I do is read. I realize that this is a lot of people's go to for hobbies. I've always been fascinated by how easy it is to get lost in a book. The impressive part is how your mind creates images to make the words you're reading attain a sense of reality in your mind. That has always been one of the most amazing things to me.
Reading a good book is one of the best feelings you can imagine. It just fills you with this sense of anticipation and excitement. It would take a seasoned veteran like myself to contain the excitement. I want to believe you got that joke? I think I should try comedy.
A book based on my perception isn't just a piece of paper sewed or strapped on together by glue. Think of it as a portal to a universe you didn't know existed. It transports you to that world of its own as a premium spectator.
Books really changed my view of the world and a great part of how I think is due to the exposure I've had. The books I've read, movies I've seen and so on.
My Love for Writing
Since you know I've loved to read for as long as I can remember. It isn't unheard of to guess that I write too. I mean, how crazy would it be? You're reading an article I wrote.
I've been writing for about seven years and with each passing year, I want to believe I've gotten better from that time till now. Writing to me is not just words on paper. The same way I have a very weird ideology of books and how they serve as portals to another realm. Speaking of; I think I will be writing a different article on this in a couple of days.
I think writing is more like playing god. You get to create characters from scratch and give them life. They get to have dreams, goals, aspirations. They live rent free in your imagination. Reality is not what we feel and touch like I always say. It is what you believe. These characters are as real as you want them to be.
I was once mad at a character I created for betraying another character. I had to stop myself like. You know this is a book right Stefan?
It was the most comical thing ever. I love creating life. Being a writer is like being gifted with the touch of God. Kind of like how King Midas was cursed to turn everything he touched into gold. Writers can create life with every stroke of the pen. It is the most beautiful thing ever. To create characters from nothing and watch the come alive.
My Music
As the Bio says, (This is assuming you've checked my bio. Assuming you haven't, I'm also assuming you will right?) I'm a professional writer and a singer songwriter. I've also been known to dabble into voice acting.
My love for music goes as far back as my love for everything else that comes natural to me. Music is a medium of expression and the best way to tell someone how you're feeling without actually saying it is to sing your heart out. Pain, love, sadness, heartbreak and so much more can all be heard a song without actually saying "I am heartbroken."
I think keeping up with Stefan is something that goes on and on if I let it but I'll stop here.
I am really excited to be part of this family and I look forward to what the future holds.
@Kristofferquincy
All images sourced from Pixabay https://pixabay.com/images/search/subtle/
@Stefthewordsmith
