Write something. Anything, below. A story, a note to yourself, a thought… think of engaging readers, keeping them on the page. Not selling, but genuine and heartfelt, TRUE, engagement. This could take any form… enjoy your writing, enjoy the fact that you will attract readers, new friends, build community. Not “followers”, but REAL interactions and emotional traction.
#professormikey
Mike Madigan … the creATive English Professor's place, for discussion, ideas, writings, sharings, lectures, notes, everything for finding yourself a stronger and more decided reader, writer … JOIN THE CONVERSATION!
#professormikey 
I think about human connection a lot. The core for so many things in life is connection. Connection is crucial to the human experience. Inspiring change, building trust, and feeling loved are based on feeling connected with other people. Sometimes when I’m struggling with my depression, I tend to isolate myself. After the numerous times of doing that, I’ve realized that neglecting connection ultimately sets back my mental and physical health. With covid, I feel like we’re living in a time with so much disconnection. On the other hand, so many people showed how compassionate a community can be. Even a small act of compassion can build a connection with mutual respect and trust. What would we be without connection?
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When I tell people that I am a vaulting coach, more often than not, people have no idea what I am talking about. It’s always fun to get to teach others about the sport. It’s so elegant and requires a lot of balance. Vaulting is a combination of gymnastics and dance on horseback. It’s a sport that I’ve been doing for ten years now and I’ve learned that it tends to be a European sport. It is especially popular in Germany. The strength of the riders is incredible. I just started coaching the vaulting club this year and I was really excited to start. It was a chance for me to teach and I’d still get to do what I love. I really enjoy working with the kids on my team. Some of them have been there with my since the team started and others are new to vaulting, so I’m excited that I get to welcome them into it. We used to go to competitions but due to COVID we are two years out of practice so we will be working on getting back into more competitions.
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I would like to share a thought I read the other day. “Biting your tongue while eating is a perfect example of how you can still screw up, even with decades of experience.” I like this thought because it reminded me that it is okay to make mistakes every now and then because it is just part of being human.
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Most of my day is spent trying to properly balance the amount of time I put into academics, work, working out and trying to maintain my social life. There have been times when I have been extremely unidimensional, focusing on just one of the things on this list. But I have now realized it is important to put an equal amount of effort into all these things. Doing this forces me to actively govern my thoughts and actions to make every area of my life has is prioritized. Which leads to an endless amount of work and stress. Sometimes I question whether attempting to do this actually worth the long term goals I am trying to pursue. Would doing lowering my list of commitments make me happier as a person? Would just trying my best and not constantly expecting myself to be perfect help? These are questions I need to find the answer to.
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I wrestled for 5 years and in those 5 years I never figured out a way to get my male teammates to recognize and respect me. Some were nice but only if they had to work with me. No matter the circumstance my female teammates and I were looked down upon or completely ignored. We all just learned to ignore it. But something I think about a lot is what could I have done to be seen as just another teammate? Not seen as a female wrestler on the team. Was there anything I could have done? Is there something I could have done to get female wrestlers more respect in the wrestling room? Is it out of my control? I am going back to coach next season and I have been thinking a lot about these questions for a couple reasons. 1) I want other girls to wrestle and not feel like they are unwelcome in the wrestling room and 2) I think there should be more female coaches in wrestling but I am afraid this unwelcoming attitude of male wrestlers is the reason females do not want to coach. I am interested to see how being a coach will affect my answers to these questions. My team has never had a female coach before. Will I be treated the same way I was as when I was a wrestler? Will things be different? I’m just not sure but I think being a coach will allow me to be in the room but be able to take a step back and observe a little more. I believe observation is my best first step to answering my questions.
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I think a lot about how people connect and talk with each other and the way they actually go about doing it. It’s a pretty interesting thing to observe and I think this is the reason I like the philosophy of everyday life. A lot of the times I have been around these interactions it has been people who think things about people but they don’t actually say anything. Whether that be an altercation or just a feeling. This is something I think about a lot and it impacts my passions as well.
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I am an extremely relational person. I recharge by socializing, and minimize the amount of alone time I have. In fact, I hate being alone. Isolation has been my greatest enemy. Growing up, I lacked emotional intelligence and hated dwelling in my feelings. But as I’m maturing, I have realized the beauty in developing a relationship with yourself. I understand now that you are your own strongest ally, and I should not search for the approval of others. At the end of the day, I have to live with the choices and decisions I make. Learning about yourself helps you better comprehend your emotions and how you act around others.
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I’m finally happy where I am in life. 2020 was disgusting and caused me to go to a place where I’d never thought I’d end up. I’ve been painting more, it’s been so so helpful. Getting imagery onto a canvas. Reading in my free time is what I’ve been growing to love as well. I realized I’m a busy body and that’s when I’m at my happiest. Just purge toxic people man, you have one life on this earth in your body, spend it exactly how you want because it’s no one’s besides yours.
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I found 2020-present to be very similar, I’m a person that’s constantly trying to people please. I’ve come to realize that the people I was pleasing were extremely toxic and misleading. I had to remove myself completely, focus on who I wanted to be and what I wanted to achieve in my life. It can be a scary step to pause and reflect. You’re exactly right your life is yours, and no one else’s. Happy you are on a road to a new journey!
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I’m a pretty shy and quiet person so it’s hard for me to allow people to get to know me. So when I do people are shocked. You can expect the unexpected… I did taekwondo since I was 6 and I’m 18 now. I quit this summer and I’m kinda regretting it or maybe it’s because I have been doing it every day for the past 12 years. I just never imagined how it would be once I stopped and let me say it was been weird and boring. We can have many regrets in this life but at least I can say I’ve done this beautiful unique sport that many people don’t recognize. What I’m trying to get across is don’t hesitate to do something for yourself. Don’t live life with regret and maybe if you stop doing something you love thinking it was the best or right decision it just might have been a little break. Also, I wish more girls did this sport.
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“ The prophets don’t dream of me anymore.
You stopped whispering.
They didn’t like the truth I told.
They didn’t like your wrath.”
– a poem ig
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I am starting to really see myself grow into an actual adult. Since starting college it has given me real stress, real anxiety and my responsibility has grown. Trying to manage 5 courses, a girlfriend, a dog, work, and free time has matured me, but also put almost too much on my shoulders. I’ve always thought self discipline is what makes one succeed and I’m finally starting to see that in full view. I thought I was prepared for that brick wall… Until it hit me.
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Time flies….
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At this moment, I am happy with how my life is going. I’m working on myself to become a better person, I put more time in doing what I love, and I feel satisfied with where I am now. 2020 was the worst year of my life, not just because of this pandemic we are all facing, but because of problems that I never thought I would have to face. But now I feel more in control of my life; I am trying to enjoy every day that goes by, and If i make a mistake I know that I will pick myself back up and start again. Even though life has been stressful, still is everyday, I try to look at the positive side and tell myself that everything will be okay.
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Thanks for sharing!
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Nothing really goes to plan, but I am in a great place in my life where I have finally started to figure things out and that started last year when I first found out I was pregnant at 17 and had my daughter at 18. I had people doubt me and I look back now and I’m engaged, living in our new home, a college student! And also have my own business going slowly. Was I expecting to become a parent in such a young age? No, but it was the best thing that has happened to me and I’m happy with my life.
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Have you ever felt lost? The feeling in which nothing adds up and you have lost your way…well this is how I feel at this very moment. I am a Senior in high school this year and in just a few short months college applications are going to be due. Although this may be exciting for most as it is the blueprint for so many people’s future, I am lost and scared. Is it wrong to say I do not know yet what I want to major in or what I want to make of myself in life? My parents are constantly pressuring me to thrive and figure out what it is that I want to do once I get that diploma in June, yet all of these high expectations and constant stress make me even more confused. I feel as if I truly do not know myself enough yet to where I can make these tough decisions that are going to impact the rest of my life. Therefore why these next few months I am going to make it my goal to take time for myself and rid myself of all toxicity and distractions that are preventing me from my journey in self-discovery. I know that I will soon understand who Miranda Rivas is as well as her passions and desires, but of course, that takes time. I am looking forward to finding out who she is and what drives her as an individual.
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Perfect!!!
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During these last 1-2 years a lot has happened. Not only in the world but for me too. I graduated high school, started here at the JC and got a job. I was nervous at the beginning of all these things. Trying new things is difficult for me but once I do I end up liking it. For example when I got my job I was nervous that I was not doing a good job or that I was doing things wrong. Now when I go to work I make the best of it and I don’t worry about work anymore. I know trying new things is important and even though I struggle with it, I know its helps me grow into a better person.
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YES!!!! Growth, as well as appreciation and perspective!!! Cheers…
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Cold, sharp winds howled through the night. I felt the ache of my bones as I continued trudging down the dark path, the only light guiding me was the lonely moon showering her pale light down onto the fields below. I was hungry, tired, but most of all scared. I knew what dangers laid in wait, biding their time until some poor sap like me stumbled across the road running from the chill. I stopped as I heard a branch snap in the distance behind me, tilting my head towards the sound but only seeing grass and the treeline a few hundred feet behind me. I let out a sigh, cursing myself for how jittery I was then kept on walking. I needed to find them. Had to warn them. Perhaps they would call me a madman but I know what I saw, they were coming. Not today, not tomorrow, but soon. Soon they would be stomping through this very road on armored beasts and fiery machines. I will most likely die before I see a peace like this again but it doesn’t matter. Just as long as I delivered the message we may still have hope. Go to the mountains, find the key, restore the heart. Should we fall to darkness and succumb to our nightmares then there is no use fighting, sacrifice our minds and we lose more than just the lands of our forefathers. Courage does not mean strength, a lesson I had to learn the hard way. Sometimes the bravest thing we can do is keep our weapons sheathed, find the answers in the words of our enemies rather than our actions. I halted once more, seeing a light in the distance. A friend? Not likely at this hour. I took in a deep breath as I drew my spear, trying to still my shaking hands. Though scared I kept moving, hearing the thundering of hooves as this light came closer and closer. “Fear will not take me tonight…” I whispered to myself, lifting the point of the spear forward. Closer, closer, it was not stopping. I felt my pulse quicken, but I stayed strong. Death would not take me…
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This is great!!! You should do readings at local spots and bookstores man… cheers!
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A Stinky Monday
As a kennel assistant at an animal hospital I have come across some of the most disgusting things I have ever witnessed in my short life. Dog diarrhea, cat shit, and maggots are all things I have come across (I know ew). One day, we were unfortunate enough to have the treatment room quite a few degrees warmer than usual. This means that whenever a dog or cat decided to shit, the whole room would smell of hot ass shit. You must be thinking it can’t be so bad right? WRONG. That day we also had a cat come in with an abscess on it’s face, that the Doctor would operate on in the stinky hot ass treatment room. I cannot describe to you how much that stank. As a kennel assistant that meant I had to clean up this disgusting puss that came out of a cat’s face. To be entirely honest I watched the removal process which was gross but it was one of those instances where once you started watching you couldn’t look away. The doctor took a scalpel and made a small incision and pinched. All of that stinky ass puss came right out of that poor cats face. (This is why we need to check your cats for any sort of puncture wounds after a fight). Unfortunately for that day, this wasn’t the end of the stink fest.
Later around 3 or so, a dog shat on a treatment room table because he was straining so hard against the thermometer that was up is butt. The poor bulldog was fighting so hard against the thermometer that as soon as I pulled out the thermometer, the bulldog had discharged feces on the treatment room table. I left for a moment to grab some cleaning supplies to clean up (As that’s my job). When I came back the poo was gone, and I thought one of the other assistants had thrown in out in the outside garbage as required. As the day went on, we all wondered what was stinking up the treatment room. Well it turned out that that shit had been sitting in the treatment room garbage all day (Three and a half hours). This is why we have an outside garbage so it doesn’t smell like hot shit all day.
This would not be the end of the stinky Monday, oh no. On the closing list, there is one task someone goes through every night. That is to prepare the samples we have for lab work to be picked up at 8 pm. Normally a lot of this gets done throughout the day as samples sit on the table where everyone can see. Well not today. Someone decided to throw some diarrhea in the fridge and left it there all day ( it was in a dog poop bag but come on, it was there all day). My coworker ended having to scoop this soupy stinky diarrhea into a sample container. This was just icing on the cake of hot shit. Luckily this soupy incident was the last rankness for that day. We were closing so it pretty much stunk of hot ass all day.
There were the unfortunate stink events that are now recognized as the Stinky Monday.
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Nice writing here Emma… honest and I love it! Cheers!!
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Sometimes when I feel very stressed or emotional and need to find an outlet to let loose and take the weight off my shoulders I will write poetry. I stared watching poetry competitions my freshman year of high school. Watching these people perform and put so much emotion and passion behind it. This made me want to put what I am feeling into more than just a feeling, I wanted to find a powerful and impactful way to release my feelings, and not bottle it up.
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We forget how small we are in the big scheme of things. I often find myself wrapped up in my stressed, whether its school,work,sports, really anything, and sometimes it takes a while to unravel myself and collect my thoughts. But I go through these time periods where I remember who I am and my purpose on this earth, and the purpose I have set for myself is to live, and enjoy the earth while I am on it. It is easy to get caught up in the little scuffles we receive on a daily basis, but remember that most of that stuff that happens will be forgotten the next day, so why put energy towards it? It took me a while to realize the whole world doesn’t just revolve around my life, I mean I knew it didn’t but any minor inconvenience would set me off for hours, sometimes days. It was miserable. I was tightly wound, until I slowly began to see the bigger picture, and figure out who I was as a person and what I wanted to do with my life. But now I see and love myself for who I am, and I enjoy the greatness that comes with life and the experiences I get to share with loved ones, and every “bad” situation I come across is now simply embedded with a lesson to me.
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I have always been the type of person that feels the need to look into the future. I often feel as though I need to have an exact plan for my life or I will fail. However, recently I have been trying to relax and focus on what is happening in my present life so I can enjoy myself more and not miss things. For instance, throughout high school I was always trying to look ahead to the next year or to graduation and by doing that I have realized that I missed so much that I had because I never stopped to appreciate it. Now that I am out of high school I often find myself reminiscing things that I never realized were important to me at the time. I highly encourage people who are the same to really spend some time focusing on the present rather than stressing about the future. The future will come no matter what, but the past is something that you can never revisit.
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I feel as if I’ve been in a constant state of waiting for the past few years, like I’m in a permanent transition but I don’t know what’s coming next or when it will happen. I can’t remember a time where I haven’t felt lost or left behind. The thing is though, I’m not lazy or confused. I’m doing what I should be; working and saving up at a minimum wage grocery store job that where I’m treated like I’m less than human and spending endless hours sitting at a desk doing work for five JC classes so I can hopefully transfer in two years. But I’m sitting here typing on the same laptop in my same room in the same house in the same town I have been for what feels like an eternity and it is suffocating me. I graduated this past June after spending most of junior and senior year in psych wards and residential treatment. In September 2019 I was sitting in treatment waiting to get better so I could go back to school. I got to go to school for two weeks before I was sitting at home waiting for the pandemic to end so I could go back to school. Then I got bad again and I was sitting in at the hospital then treatment again waiting to go sit back at home so I could sit and wait for however long it would be until I could go back to school. Before junior year I was a naive, bright eyed bundle of potential. With my 4.2 GPA and my constant praise from adults for my writing and my art I thought I had it made. I pictured myself in some big-name UC, my pockets lined with scholarship money, living out some sort of college romance coming-of-age indie film surrounded by a posse of smart and interesting new friends. But the last two years of high school were ripped away from under my feet and there was no undoing the damage I had caused to myself as well as my perfect transcript. It hurt so much. My previously great academic standing was my ticket out of this life I hated, but since I missed so much school for treatment I didn’t make the requirements to even apply to any universities. And the few friends I hadn’t lost to being insane or to quarantine have all moved off to their new dorm rooms and have forgotten that I exist. It hurts so much, that just a few months ago I thought these people loved me but I mean nothing to them now. I replay memories from the Good Parts of high school over and over again in my head until I’m a crying mess. I do have two friends here and my boyfriend but it’s so hard to find gaps in our respective schedules where I can even see them. Maybe I could cope with being lonely if some sort of exciting change in my life was happening, but it isn’t. I’m still waiting.
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My Dear Sweet Girl, I wish that you could see yourself through my eyes. I see all the love, empathy, and compassion you so freely give to others. I wish so much that you could give these same things to yourself. The same imperfections you accept in others should also be the same way you view your own flaws. You are perfectly imperfect and those are some of the qualities I love the most. Please don’t let this harsh world dim your light. Don’t let it make you bitter. Keep talking fast and loud about things that exctie you, even if no one else finds it as thrilling. Do what you love, even if you aren’t very good at it. Practice. Mistakes are the best way to learn how to do it the right way. Try to stop caring what others think and instead focus on how you think about yourself. Work on loving yourself and the rest will fall into place. You are allowed to have boundaries and say no, even if it will upset someone else. Most of all remember that your self worth and self respect comes from within. No one can take that away from you. – A note to myself and my daughter
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As I began to grow up I realized how weird and hard life will always be. Our society always wants us to have the next step planned or be prepared for what’s next, but I’ve realized how can we prepare for then if we are only in now? Growing up I was always worried that I would never amount to anything in this life so I tried to always go above and beyond, however I was never able to stop and wonder what will be amountful to me? As I have been able to start entering this life of the “adult world” I’ve begun to realize, literally nothing matters other than that moment you are in, and nothing will ever go as planned, so just live it because this life is pretty unexplainable when you really stop and think about it.
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Thanks for submitting…. know that you have TIME!!!!
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All I can say is that coming from a Hispanic family, it is hard to show your true self or show what you want to do, but at the same time I am proud of coming from a Hispanic heritage. I feel that my time is running out of actually enjoying my youth. Sometimes I feel that I have to say this out loud. I want to have a “normal” life and not feel “trapped” inside. All I want to say is that life is beautiful, but it also has to do with how you take advantage of it.
I want to add this thought:
Time is gold.
Time can be your friend,
but it can also be your enemy.
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Love this!! Time is what we decide it is. ❤
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Growing up as a kid, I always knew I had it good, and that made me afraid of the future. I was afraid that I would have less time for myself and that I would have tackle on a lot more stress. That led me to never think too far into the future and I generally didn’t put much thought into what I should be or where would I be. It was cool then because it allowed me to be far more laid back and irresponsible at times, but now I’m just stressed out because I’m at the infinite crossroads of opportunity, I don’t know where to go. I have the burden of too many choices that I have been narrowing down to a finite amount, but nevertheless I am so unsure of what I want to do as a career. People tell me that I’m young, 17 currently, but that doesn’t help me in the least since I’m already ahead on my GED, from working on it in high school, so I have to working toward advancing to a certain career that I don’t know will even pan out correctly. I was always a person who lived in the moment and these last two years have been adding on a lot of stress with so much focus on our future as the, how my school called us, strongest generation which makes us more resilient than others, which is completely wrong since we have been babied by our teachers since the pandemic started. I have always valued my time and I think that’s why now I am so afraid to be losing it so quickly.
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I’m 19 years old, I turned 18 in 2020 and I want to talk about the expectations of that birthday that is supposed to be the beginning of adulthood. I don’t know about everyone else’s experience but mine was somewhat disappointing. I always heard, “The Big one” or “The day you become an adult”. The build up almost made me believe I would have a family and start working a forty hour week and live by my self. No more fun childhood activities for me because now I was going to be 18. I wasted time preparing for this special day where my life would change. What a joke, because in reality, nothing changed. I had a great birthday, but it was just another birthday. I woke up feeling the exact same as the day before where I was supposably still a child. I still loved doing the same things as before. I lived with my parents and went to school, I was the same person mentally and physically. The only real differences were I could go to jail, and I could now vote. All these expectations left me at the end of my “Big Day” disappointed. I was lead to believe everything would change and yet there I was, the exact same.
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You ever find yourself just scrolling through Tik Tok or Instagram for hours a day? I know many of us have and I just want to touch on that topic. What are you getting out of that? The only thing you are doing is wasting your own time and making those multi-millionaires just richer everyday. Do you think Mark Zuckerberg is scrolling through Instagram too? No definitely not. Rich and successful people don’t have time to sit around and scroll through their phones. Find a hobby that will get you off the couch or bed and make you think. Don’t waste your time sitting around watching people dance on a screen or talking about their life. Go and do your own thing. The point of all these social media apps is to have you on the screen for as much as possible. Get up and do something for yourself that will benefit you in any way. One last thing, do you know why we don’t ever seen a Lamborghini commercial? Because the people who can afford Lamborghini’s aren’t sitting around watching TV… ( I didn’t come up with this, I saw it in a video)
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My Life as of now consists of school, sports, homework, and one or two days a week where I get to see my only friend that hasn’t left for college. While some people might look at the things in my life as super fun and enjoyable, that is not always the case. Now more than ever I understand the importance of time management, it really feels like sometimes I can’t get five minutes in a day to relax or do something other than sports or school. While I love the sports I play and think that it will be worth it in the end, sometimes it does get to be too much. Theres been a few times where I really have to ask myself if my big goals and dreams are really with it. I just know as life gets harder your getting closer and closer to making your dreams a reality.
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