Picture Prompt: Flowers

Not a teapot, yet short and stout, a small little vase with white petals sticking out.

Fifth Lovely

Quickly, the three of us got through the morning. I knew they could sense my haste, and honestly, I only hoped it made them more aware of their speed. They didn't make much progress in the quarter of an hour I took to make six breakfast sandwiches. It was a little disheartening to see how little effort they put into it. Still, I brushed it off and joined them, ensuring the kitchen was spotless within an hour. We all took a break to eat and I took the time to explain the day's game plan. It was around eleven in the morning when we ate, and I hoped for the whole house to be in tip-top shape by three. Then, they would be allowed to leave the house, play, and do whatever until five. I dramatically emphasized it, five o'clock sharp, both of them were to be in their rooms and getting dressed in whatever I picked out. Five-forty-five, they should both be cleaned and dressed and would sit quietly in their rooms. Appetizers would be ready and the doorbell would ring at six.
When I finished explaining, they both seemed a little taken aback. Couro hesitantly nodded and finished her second sandwich. Gora just looked at me, a small glint in his eye and muttered, "So we meet the broom in person now?" Flustered, I hushed him and quickly gorged my remaining food. The two of them soon finished and we all returned to working. Couro mostly dealt with the bedrooms, Gora took the halls and bathrooms, and I cleaned the sitting room and kitchen. We lived in a relatively small house, but it was just the three of us and the bedrooms were surprisingly large, so we didn't need much space.
And honestly, my two kids rocked. Our house was literally shining a few minutes to two. I praised and hugged them so much, Couro had to remind me of the schedule. I bought them pizza as a reward, wiped the table spotless afterwards, and the two went off. Couro still told me everywhere she went, so she admitting to visiting a neighborhood friend--whose parents I actually knew quite well--but Gora kind of just headed off. He did so pretty often these days, just up and leaving without a word on where he was going. Sometimes, I wouldn't even know when he left. I tried to not let it bother me as he was turning eighteen soon, but it did.
The two hours passed by quickly. I'd prepped some egg salad and picked out clothes for the two. Everything was ready and Couro was home five minutes early and rushed to go upstairs and get ready. Gora, however, strolled in about eight minutes late and it took everything in me to not tear him apart. I reminded myself that that it wasn't the end of the world and moved on. By six, everything was ready and we were back on schedule. I was simply sitting on the couch waiting for the ring. Nervously, I hopped around on the couch, desperate to not leave an imprint.
The minutes passed by. The clock ticked. Couro came down to question me. Gora came to complain. I only told them to be patient. So we were. Tik-tok. Tik-tok. Nothing. It was after seven and I'd almost lost hope when--ring! Excitedly, I jumped off the couch, straightened any possible indents, and bounced over to the door. Opening it, a pair of smiling azure eyes looked up at me.
"Sorry," she mumbled as she walked in, "something came up and I couldn't make it until now." Honestly, I was shocked. Nicki hadn't striked me as the type to be this late. Maybe a few minutes, but a whole hour? Unannounced too? Gora already looked unhappy but I just shrugged it off and welcomed her into my home.
Honestly, she was stunning. Nicki looked as though she'd tried to dress up, but gave up at just the right moment and put on just the right "lazy" clothes. Her lips were a hypnotizing purple, her hair was in a complimentary half bun, and her sweats fell into the cuffs of her wedges perfectly. I led her to the couch, fully ready for whatever conversation she had in store. She sat down and went rambling off, entirely way too fast for me to really keep up. I attempted, I really did, but only caught snippets of her discussing doll auctions. Most of the terminology was unfamiliar to me, but I couldn't find the right place to intervene and ask. Somewhere in the middle of it, I felt Couro on my arm, so I whispered over to her to bring the egg salad for her to eat.
As Nicki talked, a plate was brought before her and she gasped with delight. "Why, thank you!" she exclaimed, at a much slower pace. Not only did she accept the salad, but she also cupped Couro's face in her hands, a small glint in her blue eyes. "Samba, is this your daughter?" Before I could answer, Nicki hoisted Couro onto her lap and start cooing her. Couro bit her tongue. Yes, she was a child, but entirely way too old for that sort of treatment. I coughed several times to try and break it up, but to no avail.
"Couro," I spoke up finally. "This is Nicolette."
She laughed, "I've been admiring your princess so much, I've forgotten to even introduce myself!" Couro smiled and held out her hand. Instead, Nicki only awed and pinched her cheeks. "And your son? I don't believe I've seen him yet."
"Oh, don't worry," I waved her off. "He'll come out when he's ready."
Nicki grinned and sat Couro next to her. "In that case, I should reveal the main reason I came!" Ecstatic, she dived into a huge, light brown, leather handbag and pulled out a box. It was beautifully wrapped in pink, yellow and purple polka dots on black and sported a sparkling holographic bow. As I watched her hand it to Couro, I felt myself relax knowing she was finally about to win her over. "This is for you, princess." My little girl was taken aback as she held the box and bit her lip excitedly. I ran to go fetch a waste bin for her, and while returning, I caught sight of Gora watching from the shadows of the hall.
I returned and set the bin up before Couro, and sat by her side. Nicki looked at me, then the box, and giggled. She scampered over to me and covered my eyes. "Alright, princess, open up!" I fidgeted in the dark, hanging onto the ripping of paper, waiting for the pause. There it was. No one said anything and Nicki rested her chin on my head, waiting for Couro's response. Nothing. Nothing moved for entirely too long.
Then, one more rip of paper.
Then, a shriek.

The Backyardigans Review: Episode 17

The Backyardigans is a children's television show which aired on October 11, 2004. It follows the events imagined up by four creative animal friends. What they are exactly, I'm not sure if it was ever stated. Though Pablo is clearly a penguin, Tyrone a moose, Tasha a hippo and Austin a kangaroo. Uniqua...I've never really been sure. I sometimes question how they even met. I grew up watching this show and was more than thrilled for some nostalgia to do this post. I chose Episode 17 to review as I easily found it online for free, which follows the events of a racing course.
We started off and immediately I was wondering whether or not the five of them have a joint backyard. Doubt it as Austin had to go through an opening in the fence. However, Tyrone and Uniqua share a yard? Also, what person just goes into someone else's yard uninvited? Tasha was there too. Just casually dancing in Tyre/Uniqua's yard unannounced.
Quickly, they fade into their imagination, a whole new world coming alive. However, imagining is one thing, seeing a completely different world and fully believing it exists is another. Drugs. They enter their racing world and all the racers line up. Each of them even has all of their previous medals...but why? They simply disappear right after too.
The race starts and only Pablo takes off. Why is a penguin such a good runner? Why do they stop and gawk at his running skills? The finally take off with Pablo up ahead, Tyrone/Uniqua tied for second, and Austin lagging behind. Uniqua gets hurt on the hurdles and she just sits on the ground. Did she twist her ankle? Hurt her knee? Did something get in her foot? No. She needs a Band-Aid for a cut on her finger. This gives Austin a chance to catch up and show off his sack's usefulness.
They reach the snowboarding parts of the race. With how far ahead he is, and considering his origins in the snow, you'd think Pablo would stay in the lead. Nope. They sing a dumb yet dope song about cold/cool and Tyrone slides his way to first. Pablo starts to drag and falls to third before he makes a wrong turn and ends up over a cliff. If you could even call it that. The ground was a few feet down and covered in snow, he would've been fine had he fell. Yet, Austin pauses to help him. At this point, I'm thinking that in any semi-serious race, he would've been dead last. However, we all know he's going to win somehow.
We move on to the kayaking section. Uniqua is apparently a pro and quickly finishes the course first. Pablo and Austin seem decent, meanwhile Tyrone just lost his paddle and had to be rescued by Austin. Still, he made it to the desert before Austin. The three of them start hiking, with constant complaints of water. Once Austin gets to the desert, he starts to worry that he won't win. But instead of running, he sings and dances about it. But as luck would have it, all three of his competitors crash by a cactus because it's "too hot." But instead of zooming ahead after they've all obviously given up, Austin gives them water and the four of them run back together.
They all run into the finishing line's ribbon, but no one can break it. (Due to the camera angle, I couldn't really tell who hit the ribbon first, but it was between Pablo/Uniqua.) Tasha announces that no one can win until the ribbon is broken. Which is DUMB, especially considering she knows that the ribbon is too strong for the racers to break by running into it. However, Austin happens to have a pair of scissors in his pouch, thus he cut the ribbon and won. Meaning, that even if Austin had remained in the back, none of the other racers would've been able to cut the ribbon and he would've won regardless of how long it took him to get to the finish. Which bothers me.
Uniqua mentions her mother's cookies and the world slowly falls apart as they return to her backyard. The show then ends with Austin having a moment and celebrating his win. I'll admit, he was a pretty adorable kiddo character throughout. So, I guess that makes up for his faulty win.

Nitpick points:

• Their names. Even their voices strongly resemble those of African Americans. While it's not bad, it's not common among cartoon shows and was always nice to see as a kid.
• Tasha kept talking to some unseen crowd that I doubted existed until they started clapping. Who are they???
• I remembered the song Go Go Go and started singing along, it honestly was so much fun.
• They all entered a four-event race, despite three of them only being good at one of the events, and the other not having any notable skill and winning only by luck.
• Shouldn't the pouch be against the rules? All racers should have the same items which are usually provided to them. If not, there're major advantages/disadvantages such as the desert and water situation.

Poem Prompt: Macro

'Macro' can describe

the shortest

or largest 

of concepts.

As long as they appear

to be large,

'macro' can--

and will--

describe them.

It can take the smallest item,

but for its immense power,

relative size,

costs of production,

etc.,

and make it seem bigger.

'Macro' can be slapped onto any object

that has any quality

that seemed worthy enough

to fit in its subcategory.

However, comma,

while 'macro' seems to be the word

to give credit to the littlest things,

it's ignored.

Once people start to see

the word 'macro'

on what to the naked eye appears small,

they start to ignore it.

'Macro' becomes just a word

with no real meaning.

Intelligence

So the other day a friend and I were discussing. And the topic of our futures comes up, as it so often does with teenagers. Now, this particular friend has had a very..."special" past. A particular event which, when I heard of, it took me a few days to really process. He presented evidence after evidence and showed more and more signs until I had to believe him. Which I do. Now, as sketchy as this sounds, I'm not too sure about the legality of the situation so I won't really specify. However, he came out of it as the incredibly intelligent person he is today.
This friend has explained concept after concept, tutored me several times, thinks of the unimaginable, gets the best grades and is the top of his class. Which is the top class at his school. Which is the top school in the country. Not only that, but he can easily detect other's emotions before even they can describe it and knows how to solve what feels like everything. He can predict diseases, disorders, downfalls--in the few months I've known him, I've seen that he truly is a prodigy.
And he hates it.
Not only is he the most gifted and talented person I've ever met, but he is also the most gloomiest and depressed. He desperately tries to keep his emotions out of conversation, and for the most part he's successful. But every once in a while something awful happens and he can't hold it in or we're just playing a simple game and he answers with blunt honesty. Every time it slips, it's always the worst thing to hear and I can't even describe the pain radiating off him anytime he opens up, even just a little.
So this particular time, we were talking, and he asked why I didn't put more effort into school. I answered honestly. I do put forth effort. I spend at least two days a week studying during school session, complete all homework, and I pass all my classes with at least a 90% overall average. If you were to ask me, I'd say I'm a pretty good student.
Then he flipped it. Clearly, I show effort for other people. I manage my grades and keep my record clean. But how much knowledge do I retain? Why don't I try to genuinely learn more?
Well, because I don't see the point. If something interests me, I will remember it and go into detail with it. However, if I'm struggling to understand something that seems boring to me and isn't language/literature related, I simply learn what I need to to pass and don't bother myself. I'll adhere to the rules and pass my classes, but my internal storage is selective. I don't need to know everything.

The conversation continues, but the main takeaway is that: we, as a human, species don't need to know it all. We shouldn't know it all. Not because basic knowledge is bad, but because there is a line. If we continue to grow our minds, with the goal to understand it all, the brain will be so complex it'll understand concepts that have no meaning. And understanding something that you honestly cannot not only drives people insane, but saddens them.
Face it, smart people don't have it as good as we believe. They get bullied in school and though they may grow up and make millions, they may end up rich and alone. People who understand more than the average human don't enjoy the simple things as much. It takes more effort. It's like growing up believing that gold was the best thing they could possibly find, but once they have it, they're now attempting to appreciate plastic. Obviously those who got plastic or bronze from the start will enjoy it more and thus stick together. Leaving the golden alone. However, there are occasions when smart people have much simpler aspirations and are able to achieve simple happiness despite they swirling minds. Sometimes even, these people become famous and successful, but who's to really say they're happy off-camera? There definitely are many intelligent people who I truly believe had/have good lives, but that just isn't the case a majority of the time.

The world is plastic. The wisest are gold.

Picture Prompt: Upside Down

Up or down, facing me or away? Just staring at these stairs, puts my brain in disarray.

Fourth Lovely

The next morning, I woke up to screams. They were the screams of an eight-year-old accompanied with a teenager's maniacal laughing. Once I recognized them, I frowned and tried to curl back into my sheets, ignoring them both. I squeezed my eyes, desperately trying to shut out the noise. To my dismay, I instead received several dings in my phone. Drowsily, I rolled over and turned it on.
Nicolette: Hi! Just wanted to know if you were free today! 6 maybe? We can do dinner! I know it's soon, but it looks like I'll be busy the rest of the month...
I smiled to myself. Before I even knew what I was doing, my fingers had excitedly typed a response and I looked back onto my screen to see that I'd agreed. Okay then.
Another scream rang through the house so I decided it was time to get up. The sunlight had already settled in around my room and was a clear reminder that I'd already moseyed around in bed too long. Today was the day off I'd been looking forward to for far too long and the last thing I wanted was to even wake up. Still, I pulled back the covers, threw on a shirt, slipped on a pair of socks and trudged my way downstairs. 
From the door frame, I looked onto the kitchen and set my eyes on the morning-of-my-day-off nightmare. The kitchen was a small, box-like room with no doors that led into both the living room and front hall. It was framed with white bricks, which I couldn't even see through the thick smoke clouding the room. Both windows were open, allowing some to escape, but three waffle makers were up and running--and creating more smoke. A bowl of waffle batter was set on the table and was surrounded in a pool of batter spilling over onto the beige tiled floors. Between the counter with the waffle makers and the table with the batter, Gora was cuddled up on the floor as Couro beat him with a wooden spoon and screeched at him. And, through it all, Gora laughed.
"What the hell is going on here!?" They both froze. Couro dropped her spoon and it landed on Gora. He let out a muffled curse word I doubt he knew I heard and glared at her. Under his gaze, Couro broke and ran to me.
Hugging my legs, she sobbed, "Daddy, Gora's bullying me!"
I sighed and picked her up. "From the looks of it, you were bullying him."
"As if," Gora piped up. He scampered onto his feet and shut off the waffle makers. "She wants me to make some stupid bird for her."
"You said you would!" she cried. "And then--! And then he came down and started teasing me!" 
I nodded. "...So you hit him with a spoon." Couro's face went a reddish brown before she buried it in my chest. "You two are siblings. I'm not asking you to be best friends. Just, please try to be nice to each other." Sheepishly, Couro nodded while Gora just rolled his eyes. I put Couro on the floor and walking into the kitchen. "Couro, collect all the dishes and wash them for me. Gora start cleaning the floor. I'll prepare breakfast and then we can scrub the walls afterwards."
Obediently, my little girl got right to work. Gora did as well, just with a little comment. "...Are you trying to clean up quickly?" I held my breath and gave him a small look. "You are."

2024 NASA Plans For Moon Base

Similar to many times in the past, NASA has announced plans for another moon mission. This time, scientists have intentions to create a permanent base on the moon. And with Trump's addition of $1.6 billion, this one is looking more likely to be built. Especially with the technological advances we have and the amount of progress made so far, I do have faith they'll pull it off this time. At least, sometime in my lifetime. So here's ten facts about the base.

1. It's currently been almost forty-five years since the last time USA was in space with Apollo 17 which went up December 7-19, 1972.
2. In Greek mythology, Artemis is Apollo's twin brother. And as NASA plans to put the first woman on the moon, the shuttle was named after Artemis.
3. Women like Eileen Collins and Kalpana Chawla have been up in space and manned a shuttle, but NASA plans to pick a woman to walk on the actual moon
4. There are plans to send up two robots to the moon to build a sustainable, permanent base by 2024.
5. NASA plans to explore the Lunar South Pole.
6. China also has plans to explore the moon and build a research center around the Lunar South Pole as well.
7. China plans on launching the building blocks of their base in 2020.
8. The base itself will be called The Gateway, as it's a symbolization of human advancement.
9. The Gateway shall be used to eventually branch out and one day build a similar base on Mars in the 2030s.
10. While The Gateway is young, it will only be used by four researchers in 30-day intervals.

Letzter, R., & Letzter, R. (2019, April 27). China Plans to Build a Moon Base Near the Lunar South Pole. Retrieved July 11, 2019, from https://www.space.com/china-moon-base-10-years.html

Moon to Mars. (n.d.). Retrieved July 11, 2019, from https://www.nasa.gov/specials/moon2mars/

Robots May Start Moon Base Construction. (n.d.). Retrieved July 11, 2019, from https://sservi.nasa.gov/articles/robots-may-start-moon-base-construction/

Whitwam, R. (2018, September 27). NASA Sets New Roadmap for Moon Base, Crewed Missions to Mars. Retrieved July 11, 2019, from https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/277788-nasa-sets-new-roadmap-for-moon-base-crewed-missions-to-mars

A Turtle's Tale Review

A Turtle's Tale is a comedy-drama/romance from 2010 detailing the life adventure of Sammy, a turtle born in 1959. For a kids' movies, it does wonders in explaining the importance of caring for our planet, not only for ourselves but for those around us. However, watching this as a teen with what I'd like to say is a more refined sense of taste in movies than a small child, the movie falls short in a few areas.
At the very start, and through out the movie, it's made clear that Sammy is telling the story and that it's his life. He's born, and as the last one of the bunch, he struggles to climb out of his nest. It's in these moments that the movie so well shows the imminent dangers many animals face at birth that many kids don't even think about. Sammy doesn't get to the ocean in time and he and another turtle from his nest are captured by birds and he manages to fight them and save them both. Very...unrealistic. But whatever right, it's a kids' movie after all.
Sammy lands on a raft and floats about, rather than actually swimming around. Weird, but okay. And the movie portrays it as normal for turtles to just float around when they're young rather than actually swimming. Especially strange in a movie that is advocating caring for the ocean. Although, I must compliment the overshot of the Earth, it's really lovely and captivating. The movie also manage to attain the same level of artistry with their ocean overviews.
Soon, we meet Ray, Sammy's future lifelong best friend. The two discuss and not only is Ray's voice perfect for his character, but these day-old turtles show off their knowledge of the world around them. I'd excuse it if it was just basic survival skills, but Sammy somehow knows what a brother is--despite the fact that if it weren't for this encounter, he would've spent his days alone.
Anyhow, the "brothers"spend their lives discovering the oceans together. They grow up together in one of the cutest adolescence montage I've seen in a while. However, they maintain a naive outlook on the world and are nearly eaten several times. While I understand they were meant to be just gags, this does make me wonder how they've survived for so long.
In the fashion of growing up, the topic of mating comes up between the two. They're much more mature and while it's only natural, the amount of focus this movie puts on the romantic elements does irk me slightly. I feel as though it should focus more on the animals and their homes, but I'd say at least a third of the movie revolves around the main couple, and there're still many moments scattered throughout that hint towards them getting together.
Anyhow, when asked who he's into, Sammy recalls his memory of saving a turtle's life back when he was a newborn. Shelly, her name was. However, comma, Ray is Sammy's brother because they "might be from the same beach." So then, this girl that was born from the same nest as him, most definitely the same mother, is she not his sister??? Or is this simply not important because not once is it mentioned.
We move on, and the tone of the movie is flipped on its head. Not a single word is uttered for two/three minutes, long enough for the score to put genuine dread in my stomach as we were given an eye full of an oils ship and Ray was no where to be seen for a good while. I was afraid. And the movie goes on to emphasize the bliss animals had to man-made dangers by continuing on with an eerily lighthearted scene where all the fish in the area prance around.
This makes way for a heart-jerking scene showing us the damage of irresponsible human behaviors. Not only is it implied that the jolly old octopus won't make it, but this is the start of many surprisingly emotional scenes. Time after time, I really feel authentic pity and terror for Sammy. The next moment is when Ray and Sammy are separated by fishermen.
Sammy manages to escape his fishing boat, but at this point he's too far from Ray and pulls up on the beach. Which, by the way, is a decision I'll never fully understand. But it does allow a human to find him and take him in. It's here where he learns about the "secret passage" and develops his dream to explore the world. Though it's never really explained what this secret passage is exactly.
Due to a mixture of pure luck and Vera's almost unbelievable awesomeness, Sammy manages to save Shelly's life. Just like he did as a child. And almost instantly, she's enchanted by him and my alabameter went through the roof. After some time, she agrees to follow him to find the secret passage. After a series of mad luck and almost dumb persistence, Shelly ends up getting hurt. For a moment, we're all left to think she's dead. And if I'm being honest, I'd rather that than the goose chase Sammy ends up going on based on nothing more than vague directions given by random animals who had seen Shelly. In his travels, he manages to meet up with the one and only Ray and save him from death.
As best friends do, Sammy spills his story to Ray and he decides to take him to the turtle version of Tinder. It's a beautiful, sunny area, known to be a place where turtles get together to hook up. Sammy even walks in on two of them...moving on.
With his immense amounts of lucks, Ray's mate admits to having seen Shelly and that she was in the shipwreck. Sammy then swims through the wreck, excited to reunite with her, only to see another guy flirting with her. He jumps to conclusions and doesn't even bother to confront her. Instead, he runs out to Ray to sulk. I'm not too upset with that, but rather what happens next.
Ray and his mate explain that the turtle Shelly was seen with was known to be a huge flirt and was even taken already. They push him to return to Shelly, but he chickens out so Ray comes up with the idea to scare her with a shark to replicate the two times she almost died and Sammy saved her. Sigh. This works too and they all live happily ever after. Though, they're still siblings.
I'll admit the movie was nice in the first half, but once Shelly got involved, it seemed to forget its purpose and started to center itself around its main incestuous couple. The ending wrapped it nicely for me and sold it off as a nice family movie that could start a conversation or two with the children.

Really nitpicky mentions:

• There's a moment where Sammy is almost eaten by a fish and he asks the fish "do I look like food to you?" Instead of charging at his possible dinner, the fish nods, smiles, and swims away. Because...the children, I guess.
• The two of them just rammed into a group of innocent and seemingly helpless seahorses. I just wondered why??? 
• Ray and Sammy have a little moment where they ride a spring and relax. But I'm wondering, how'd they get down without hurting themselves? The rock was way too big for them to have jumped, so I'm confused.
• How do they know what bananas are?
• The human tried to mate Sammy and Vera mate, despite them obviously being different species???
• How does a paint mark remain so prominent on his shell? Throughout the whole movie it barely even chips.

Water

It elegantly flows

from one stream to another.

Its tides come in

washing up a sand dollar

indented with the marks

from the river's weathering

during it's time in the stream--

constant splashing and thrashing.

The same muddy waves

will worm their way

to a nearby ocean

estuary, drainage or bay.

Millions of creatures and fish

call this land their home.

And the protection of their lives

is severely underdone.

Carelessly--

dozens of piles

or garbage and leftovers

is tossed and mixed with miles

of running water that

will one day drip into

the same water we drink.

It affects us too.

It affects us all.

In our world, each molecule

is as connected

as each drop in a whirlpool. 

Family

"Blood is thicker than water."
This is such a famous saying, but I've seen it been interpreted a million different ways. Plain and simple, blood is thicker than water--which it is. But it's used as a metaphor to imply how you should treat family versus friends. Mainly two stand out to me--and in a way both are right and both meanings are important to recognize.
The one most commonly held against me is blood-related. Most people also seem to be more familiar with this one as well. Basically, it just means that the people who share genes and consequently the "same blood" should come before those that don't. Basically, family comes before all else. This tends to be especially common among the older generation and more traditional people. Mainly just those who like to keep their blood family by their side. There really is nothing wrong with this and can be a good motto to follow, especially if you have a good relationship with your family members. They've been there since birth and were your first lifelong friends, throwing them away for some hagglers you picked up on the street is honestly just an awful thing to do. Family really is important.
However, while researching this quote, I was made known to the fact that the original quote was "The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb." Just those little additions flip the quote on its head. Now, the effort you put into friendships--hardships, battles, low pits--are bound to shed blood. And that blood you shed through tough times is thicker than the water you were birthed in. Those who are there through your low points must be held close. This version of the quote is suggesting that these people are more important than those who grew up with.
Now, let me add my two cents. To me, the quote means to hold family close. And while Webster defines family by genetics, I personally would like to object. A family is a set of people who you trust, love, and who you grew up with. And grow up doesn't necessarily mean from birth to eighteenth birthday, it could also mean to experience a sort of drastic beneficial change. This could refer to anything from becoming a better writer to becoming more emotionally stable. Your family are the people who not only are there for you, but ultimately help you grow in life. Related by genetics or not, these connections are what should be placed over everything else.
In my eyes, both versions are stretching the importance of family and honestly, I couldn't agree more.

Picture Prompt: Childhood

Children used to scream at him every Halloween, now a frightened Mr. Pumpkin is looking up at me. 

Independence Day

I hope you enjoyed your 4th of July. Here's a picture from mine!

Sunglasses

Sitting high,

covering a pair

of hidden eyes.

A small glare

from a nearby light

colors a strip. 

A faint white

against the black shift.

It completely covers

everything under,

masking from the waters

of waterfalls of plunder.

Now, you're gone

replaced with whoever you choose

a smile for fun

a scowl to threaten a dude to lose.

In whichever style,

color, or shape,

for just a while

sunglasses can be great.

Procrastination

Procrastinating.
It's something I struggle with, I won't lie. It's why my double update didn't go according to plan, or why other than my blog, most of my works tend to go up late at night. I procrastinate. I get a majority of it done and convince myself the rest will only take five minutes. With that, I then feel the freedom to go on about my week, not worrying about this particular piece. I have so many other things to worry about, so why waste time on this one work that only needs a few touch ups? I'll get it done in my free time.
But then, what is free time? Whenever I'm not doing something laborious? Sometimes, I consider myself busy when I'm sitting down writing. But then, other times, I consider it a way to let off steam and relax. With such a blurry line between busy and free, I can easily convince myself that I'm always busy. A random skit I'm writing for fun? Busy. This drawing I'm making? Busy. A television show I'm watching? Busy. Busy, busy, busy. I'm always busy.
So then, when am I ever free? There are, of course, times when I can't get out of doing a particular task. But then, if I can say I'm busy even when I'm using minimal effort, then when am I not? Never. I'm then never free. And if I'm never free, then when do I take five minutes out of my day to finish that piece of work? Never. I'll never get it done. Until I see that I have an hour before it goes up, I won't bother because I'm busy.
And now, with just one hour left, I'll finally go over my work. Then I'll see all my errors. All the mistakes are brought to the light. I sit down, finally focused and ready to fix everything. Five minutes quickly becomes ten. Which becomes twenty. Then forty. Next thing I know, I'm only half way through editing, and I only have two minutes before the deadline.
Now, in some situations, this would be it. I'd be screwed over because someone is monitoring my time management and punctuality. In that situation, they'd punish me based on their position and I'd become less trustworthy. I may lose grade points, a promotion, my current position, or rights to a certain activity. However, that's not the case here.
I am a teenage girl, training myself to be a freelance writer when I get out of school. So then, I just need to perfect my writing, right? When I opened up my Wattpad, I decided I needed to use it to practice being a writer. When I first though about practicing, the only thing on my mind was actually writing and getting my work out there. It's been almost a year since my current account was opened, and honestly, I'm learning so much.
Not only is writing just about finishing a story, but it's also about creating a fan base. You need to gather a group of people who are willing to support you and your efforts. When I realized this, I started spreading to other websites. I created a tagline to go under to make everything easy to find. I've had friends look me up and be amazed at how much they could find. While I'm thankful for the progress I've made and the people who support me and the few dedicated readers I have, I intend to go farther. While I may linger in the spot I'm in, I have no intentions of stopping here. And as far as I plan to go, there's still one thing holding me back: procrastination.
My age old habits of lying in bed until ten, wasting the day watching videos, or moseying around to the last minute--they all need to go. I've pondered several times, on how to get rid of this terrible habit. At first, I simply wanted to say I was lazy sometimes. But after writing this and doing some reflection on myself, I feel I truly do have a problem. I have this fear of being too busy to be happy, that I refuse to ever be busy at all. And it's getting in the way of not only my dream, but also enjoying life itself.
I've gathered different solutions, like setting a time screen limit on my phone, creating a summer timetable, or a little journal that lists my day to day goals. I'm researching strategies to keep me more focused, and healthier things to fill my time with. There are certain things I wish to accomplish each day, and I won't rest until I do. Instead of telling myself I'm busy, I actually should be. Sounds foolproof, hm? Well, I know myself. And I know that it won't go as smoothly as I'd like it to. But, like I said, I'm a teenager. My brain is still developing, so if I can instill it in my daily habits to fight procrastination now, maybe I won't have such a hard time as an adult.
I realize this Turtle Thought was a little bit more personal than the others, and I'm not sure if that'll be a new trend or not. I just procrastinated less and spent more time on this one, and I felt as though relating the issue to my personal life would help portray my message. Laziness really isn't all it's cracked up to be.


Note: I wrote busy so many times through this, I had to pause and look up what it meant to ensure it was still a word.

Picture Prompt: Family

United they stand, and united they shall fall. A family comes in all sizes, big or small.