From time to time, when tensions are high or I can sense an imminent, pervading uneasy energy, I do a little meditative exercise. Usually, it is a visualization or relaxation ritual; something easy to refocus my mind.
As exam time draws near, I will begin to show you what I do, and also some more advanced techniques for meditation and you can use it however you see fit.
So, in preparation for that, this week's blog will have you contemplating your "happy place" either real or metaphorical or imaginary. Please answer each of the following questions, using detailed, descriptive imagery-laden diction.
Where do you like to go to escape from the pressures of your life? (It doesn't have to be a real place). Why THAT place?
What is your best childhood memory? Describe it in detail.
Where and when do you feel your absolute best? Why?
What is the most soothing sound you can imagine?
Which colors affect your mood the most? How do those colors affect it?
When during the day do you feel the most at ease? Why? What is it about that time of day that provides comfort?
(60pts-400 words)
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81 comments:
This is an interesting blog! :)
Thank You!
When escaping the pressures of my life, I find myself unable to pinpoint an exact place where I like to go. It really depends on the situation. Normally I tend to blast music and let myself forget about everything around me. I'll lie on my bed or sit on my chair and just stare for a long time. This is actually one of the only moments I stop thinking. I could turn on the music at 6 and not snap back to reality until 8:30, without feeling like a single minute went by. Then there are times where the stress and pressures have got me so bad that I bring my puppy in my room and just vent. I don't like anywhere else in my house besides my room—it's the only place I feel safe and alone, and I like it that way. When the weather gets nice and warm, I'll find myself sitting in a chair by the pool with my doggie, staring up at the sky or stars, and falling asleep outside. It's the best feeling in the world. I can just sit and think and let my mind organize its self.
Again, I don't think it's possible for me to pick my best childhood memory. There are too many, and I know whatever I pick won't be nearly as great as what it should be but probably can't remember. But I'll try. I could pick anything from the huge 4th of July Parties I used to have, or Mullica softball, or all the times with my best friend Amy as a kid, or riding the sled on the quad in the snow, or Mullica school, or going to Monmouth Race Track, or the AC Race Track, or Christmas when I used to believe in Santa, or skiing and the Poconos. Ah, this is when I start reminiscing and get stuck in the past and never want to leave. I feel like if I pick a favorite, it devalues my other memories, but I really think of them all the same.
Well, I'm going to have to pick the 2005 12u World Series in Cherry Hill. I don't know how many times I'm going to explain it, but it's really unexplainable to anyone who doesn't appreciate softball or understand how much it means to me. I have to go back to what led up to it. We just lost our first game to Hamilton in the double-elimination round of states. The winner of the next game automatically gets a by to the World Series. The intensity was flaring and everyone was so excited and nervous at the same time. I remember how loud it was from all the parents and the obnoxious sand and rocks the crowd put in the water bottles to shake them. Coach Tom and Carly's dad kept telling us to focus and focus and focus. We were only winning by 1. The other team had bases loaded; it was their last at-bat. I was about 2 feet from the batter incase she bunted and it didn't occur to me for a second that my head would have been chopped off if she smacked a line-drive my way. She struck out. One out. I backed off and played my normal spot nervous as hell. Next thing I know, the girl slams a line drive right at our pitcher, she snags it, and I start screaming for her to throw it back to me. The girl on first took too big a lead; Janey threw it back to me—double play. We won. My dad started playing Queen from his car, "We Are the Champions." The first Mullica team ever to be going to the World Series. I know I couldn't believe it. It actually didn't hit me until the day we arrived at the hotel. Coach Tom told us to take a nap before we went out, but I just couldn't. I've always had a sleeping problem, where if I start thinking too much I can't sleep and have to be in a really crouched up position and secluded spot with no noise to even have a chance of falling asleep. I took a nap in the tub. I felt nauseous the whole time, thinking that in just a few hours we would be playing our first game. I used to do drama, so I know the feeling of being nervous in front of an audience. But even that feeling didn't compare to the butterflies eating at my stomach. The whole experience was amazing. We lost our first game by 1 run. It was the biggest joke in the world because they only scored by us giving them bases from "illegal" pitches. I get so furious every time I think about it. We wanted revenge so badly. We ended up being 2-2, and not able to make it to the second round. We should have, we were so good. We beat the team that came in 2nd, and definitely deserved to place. I try to blur that part out. Once they announced the teams continuing on, and not hearing our name being called, I walked back to my car so angrily because I knew if I saw any of the freaking Cherry Hill girls I would have knocked someone out. I turned on the radio in the car and what do you know—Howie Day's "collide" was on and at that exact moment the chorus went, "Even the best fall down sometimes." I started bawling my eyes out. I don't cry for just anything, it has to mean something. And yes, softball means that much to me. I did not want to be around any of my family. I didn't want to talk about anything. I went back to Janey's house with Carly and we really didn't know what to say about anything. We just knew it wasn't fair. Ugh, I can't explain it any more, I get so frustrated. No one would understand besides Carly, since she was there, but it aside from the emotional roller coaster it caused me to endure, it was seriously one of the best experiences and memories I'll ever have.
Wow, that's enough for me to write tonight. I'll finish tomorrow.
Where do I go? Good question.
Too often, I live in a world I made myself. Isn’t that what writing is? So the world I live in at the moment is quite amusing, at least to me.
There are two types of people in this world: the people of stone and water, the people of fire and air. I’m more concerned with the stony people, since they’re more familiar to me. With earthy-colored skin, and hair in the colors of either stone or metal, they look much like normal humans.
And for them, I’ve crafted palaces of white marble, honeycombed with cavernous rooms and high-arched halls. And then I’ve also built their tomb: a deep cavern. The walls are carved into alcoves, each containing a glass gar, lit from below. Each jar is filled with water, with metallic flakes suspended within. This race returns to water, instead of to earth. The physical and logical aspects I have entirely ignored. This world exists only for the sake of poetry. I view the world through the window-glass character Arnica, a silver-haired warrior and Captain of the Guard. She spends her time traveling, and settling minor disputes. While this accomplishes very little for the plot of the story, it gives me a chance to see the inside of my own world.
There are other worlds I work with, but the characters all act too much like people I know. Usually those are exactly the people I’m trying to avoid.
I’m working out the world as I go along. The mundane world seems very unimportant and far away when I’m working.
My best childhood memory… It’s more a combination of memories, so similar that they’ve run together. Even before I could understand words, my mother would read to me. She would sit on the couch, and I (wild little ape that I was) would clamber over the back of the couch, jump from chair to chair, or wedge myself between my mother and the cushions. That always how we always ended: I’d lay my head on her arm, and listen, amazed, to the echoing tone her voice took on. I can still see the scene. My mother (brown-haired then, before cats and kids turned it grey) with a disintegrating paperback in her hands, the tangle-haired child hanging over the back of the couch. I can feel the ragged, paint-stained t-shirt I wore as a dress back then. It was one of many my dad had worn through.
That’s the reason why I know so much poetry. She didn’t read nonsense rhymes. No, she’d open up a book and begin “A fool there was, and he made his prayer…” Or “Terrence, this is stupid stuff!” And I could fill in the next five or ten lines. Sometimes, she would start it off differently, or in an unusual tone of voice, and I would shrilly insist that she read it the “right way.” And so, I learned Kipling and Yeats and Housman and Dorothy Parker, long before I could write. But, to this day, I still don’t know many nursery rhymes.
When and where do I feel my best? Perched on the edge of the deck railing. I don’t know why I should like it so much, but I always find my best thoughts there. It’s hardly the safest place to sit. The deck is older than I am, and the railing is bowed even under its own weight. But it puts my head level with the lowest branches of the oak trees, at exactly the right height to look for caterpillars. I don’t think that could be the entire reason why I enjoy that perch, but it’s certainly part.
The most soothing sound I can imagine… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuvX2MBPSpI&feature=channel_page
Music… And the seashore… And songs about being lost, about lost things, lost times, lost rhymes, lost history, about it living in the soul of the lost traveler… Talk to me for an hour, and you know that I live in history. I must reach out for the lost. And for song… That’s our connection to history! Our songs will outlast us by centuries!
Colors… Most of them don’t affect me. Greens and blues combined will put me to sleep, and orange will leave me vaguely out-or-sorts. It’s the combined colors of the woodlands that put me in the best mood, though. Greens by muted reds by browns by surprising flashes of gold. This… I get lost in the depths of such colors. Amusingly, I keep buying skeins of yarn with that combination of hues, for exactly that reason.
What time of day am I most at ease? It used to be sunset, and early evening, just as the landscape turns blue. But lately, that time’s been filled up with my mother’s harping on about grades or colleges. Just after midnight is much more peaceful nowadays. I’m alone with my computer, and someone from the other side of the earth to talk with. I can get lost in stories about Malaysia, Turkey, or England, and in someone else’s life and troubles. It proves to me that my own troubles are minor. It’s a relief, really. I’m inclined to wallow, and to inflict the ripples in my routine life on everyone within earshot. I need to hear stories of real trouble to keep my life in perspective.
JP!
"I feel like if I pick a favorite, it devalues my other memories, but I really think of them all the same"
->That's a good point. I really can't think of one great moment because they are all good but I was going to choose the World Series. But you did so I won't haha. But yes Jen, not getting into the finals when we already beat the team from Conn. that came in third was butt! I cried so much and I knew it broke my dad and Mr. Higgins hearts because they tried so hard to fight to get us into the next round but couldnt. :( I'm sad now, but getting to the World Series was one of the best experiences in my softball career and hopefully we will win CAL's and the tournament this weekend to top it off!!!
car-car! sorry I'm not in class =p, I missed the bus.
I don’t really have a fantasy place I go to when all else in reality is failing me. The times when I need to escape the environment surrounding me are usually before sports games. Before every soccer game, Hearn has us sit in our designated spots for 2 minutes in silence and only think about the game. When I’m laying down in my place in the back of the net, I go through different plays in the game, hum different songs that make me anxious to play and basically get pumped for the game. This mental preparation also occurs on the bus in soccer. Hearn has us put our cleats on in silence for the last 10 minutes of the bus ride so we can think about the game. Now, during softball me and Hilface have a set playlist of songs that we listen to that get us ready for the game. People laugh at us because we sleep on the bus to away games, but for me, it’s just a way to prepare myself for competition. In school, I often find the need for an escape from my surroundings. Usually this consists of me daydreaming in class about anything but school. I think of softball, soccer, my horse, friends, and funny memories, but nothing about the ant derivative of sin x. (:P) When at home and I need to get away from my sister because she is yelling at me and pissing me off, I usually go in my room and blast the least censored music I have to piss everyone off but calm me down. In the summer when I’m angry or stressed, I usually find relief in running. Yes running. Although some people hate it, to me it is something that can clear my mind of anything and allow me to get away from everyone else. My happy place when I was younger used to be outside at my barn with my horses, but I don’t have any horses at my house anymore I chose these places to escape because sports are way better than the daily events in life. Remembering the good times and simply drifting into a blissful scene of basically nothing calms me more than anything else.
Since Jen stole one of my best childhood memories I had to think of another. When I was in 2nd grade I got my first horse. That weekend me and my best friend who also rode horses, Jamie, were at Camp Sacajawea for a girl scouts thing. The weekend was cold and tiring, so when my mom came to pick me up and told me she had a big surprise I was ecstatic. The entire ride home, me and Jamie tried to guess what the surprise was but my mom wouldn’t give in. My mom said we had to stop at our neighbor’s house before we went home so unaware I got out of the car and followed my mom inside a stall at our neighbors barn. Then I saw the most beautiful creature in the world. A golden horse stood before me vigorously crunching hay between his teeth, ears pricked. I gasped and my mom told me that this was my new horse. I was speechless. His name was Chance. Looking at this gorgeous creature for the longest time, I never knew at that moment the memories and times we would share for years to come. Could you imagine at seven years old coming home to find a pony of your own? It’s something every little girl dreams of and it was one of my best childhood memories, for what is was, and how it changed me as a person in the end.
I have to finish later…
:/ Jen! are you coming into school...we might have our game!?!?
no, I have no ride =[.
Before high school bombarded me with stress and mounds of homework, I used to play the piano to relax. In eighth, ninth, and some of tenth grade, I would play for hours, getting lost in the beautiful melodies written by musical geniuses centuries ago. However, this year came, and I found myself drifting away from this method more and more due to lack of time. (...Maybe THAT'S why I am so stressed out all of the time... :P ha ha) So, unfortunately, I would be a liar if I said I played the piano to escape. Now, I use the window. :) When my brain is about to explode, I open my window and let the fresh air smack myself out of it. When the weather is particularly nice, I usually sit on my roof and take in the vastness of the sky or the brightness of the stars. It's overwhelming hugeness forces me to forget of my stresses and problems... compared to the scene before me, they are petty and small. In the background, I usually put on some Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, or Van Morrison, or Fernando Ortega. All of these artists produce music that calms my nerves. Music (even if I am not playing it) ALWAYS helps.
There are so many childhood memories to choose from. Seriously, I have been a spoiled little girl because when I read this question, millions of things flashed through my mind- perfect days in Cape May, spotting hummingbirds on the wire (don't ask), surprise banana pancake breakfasts, summer days spent at the river at Thurston (<3!!!!), Mullica best friends, Mullica softball families, etc., etc. Even though all of these things are diverse, there is one recurring theme between all of them- Grady. My dog was ALWAYS with me, whether it was down in Cape May, swimming in the river, giving me the puppy dog eyes to get a scrap of breakfast... Now that he is gone, every moment that I have had with him is my favorite. Ha ha. That doesn't really make any sense, for millions of moments to be my one favorite, but this is my blog entry. So DEAL. Ha ha. :)
Physically, emotionally, and mentally, I feel my absolute best when I just get home from school. Whether it is the winter months and I come home at 3, or the sports bus at 6, I love coming home and plopping on the couch and spilling to my mom about my day. Even if it is only 5 minutes long (it could be hours as well) I love these little moments. I feel my absolute best because I am most myself around my family. I have no one judging me, I don't need to be the obnoxious goofball, and I don't need to be anyone's Dr. Phil. Those moments can be emotionally draining sometimes, but here, I am most at ease and LOVE it. Ahhh.
The most soothing sound is the sound of rain. I love it when it rains because the constant rhythm slows my breathing and helps me to focus. I can't really explain it. I usually feel the need to read when it rains because I get the most out of what I am reading and thoroughly enjoy the natural music.
Bright colors always affect my mood. As corny as this sounds, if I see a person wearing a crazily bright shirt or outfit, it quite literally puts a smile on my face and cheers me up. Yes, strange. Don't judge. Ha ha.
Aw, crap! The question "When during the day do you feel the most at ease?" was already answered! Ha ha ha. Well, when I feel my absolute best, I am most at ease. In my book, they go hand and hand.
:)
Carly.
I love those moments in soccer when we get to completely focus on our game. I usually breathe slowly and count my breaths while I listen to my favorite songs. I love that we can use these techniques in softball now, too. :) Love you chi chi.
It is during this time of the year when I can’t wait for summer. I can wait to get away from all the stress, all the work, all the ignorant class advisors, all the running around that I go through. My family goes on vacation every year. For two weeks, we spend each and every day lying on the beautiful beaches of Aruba. In those two weeks, I am the most at ease. I have nothing to stress about, I am with my family, surround by sand and sun, and I just relax. It is during these long days, when I leave for school at 6:30 and come home at 8, where I think to those days in Aruba. I tell myself that everything I do know will pay off, and I will soon be lying on the beach, reading all the books I could never read during the school year, for hours. And although I obviously can’t be in Aruba when I am stressed, it is my happy place. I’ve been there four years in a row, and I honestly can call it my second home. When I need to escape from all the expectations that need to live up to, I think back to how giddy I get on the plane. The feeling of leaving everything you know for two weeks, and living in complete happiness. I think to when you walk out of the airport, and a nice young girl hands you a red plastic bag full of goodies. I think to when I get to the hotel, walk into the room, and you look out the window to find the sunset captivating your heart. It is the place where there are no cares in the world. No one knows who I am. I am not the AP student trying to get 5’s on the AP exams. I am not the swimmer just trying to get past that mental block. I am just the girl walking on the beach.
I honestly loved my childhood. I loved living with three older siblings, always having someone to play with. I loved playing with my friends, and having sleepovers every single day in the summer, I loved playing in the snow, and I loved being a Mullican. I think back to when I would fly kites with my sister at Batsto, when my whole family would go on vacation to Disney, or when I would play baseball with my brother( that is when my dad and brother still had hopes of me playing a contact sport). One memory stands out, it was a hot day in the summer, and I am assuming we just got our pool. My whole family spent the entire day outside. I would do handstand after handstand, race my brother, and jump off my sister’s shoulders. It was one day that we all had fun. Shaina and I decided it would be fun to wash our hair in the pool, soon we realized that the chlorine defeated the whole purpose, but we didn’t know any better. My dad would tuck me in, telling me stores about Oreo forests and dogs talking. It was a time where everything seemed perfect.
The most soothing sound to me is rain. I love sitting in my bed, listening to the droplets hitting the roof, sending me off to sleep. It is during those rainy days where I get to sit on the couch, eat Chinese food, and watch me some Gilmore Girls. The peace and serenity that comes with the rain makes it a sound that never fails to soothe me.
The colors that affect my mood? I guess I never really thought of that. Considering that my room is in the ‘cool color’ hue, I would say that they affect me the most. I feel so relaxed in my room. The greens (my favorite color), blues, and whites just calm me down. Maybe it is because I fall asleep to them, but I guess I never thought of it!
The time of day that I feel most comfortable is right before I fall asleep, whatever time it may be. At that time, I have finished everything that needed to get done, faced every challenge brought to my way, and I am exhausted. I usually get woken up 15 minutes after I fall asleep, because that is when my phone likes to find one bar of service, and send me all the text messages I missed throughout the night. Gotta love no-service-Mullica. But I love that feeling when you wake up in the middle of the night, look at the clock, and realize that you have four more hours to sleep. It is the best feeling, to know that you can sleep. And I guess why that makes it the best time of day. It is right before I am about to enter the most peaceful time of the day, and one can’t help but love that!
Hilary
“I love coming home and plopping on the couch and spilling to my mom about my day. Even if it is only 5 minutes long (it could be hours as well) I love these little moments.”
I feel the same way! I love coming home talking to my mom, the one person I consider myself to be closest with. She won’t judge me (most of the time) and I tell her everything (most of the time). I love it. Loved your blog. <3
When you need to leave, when you need to escape from Life’s hold, where do you go?
Curled up in a ball, I seek comfort in the blankets that cover me protectively from my troubles, that turn away Life when it comes to my door, knocking obnoxiously. My bed is my sanctuary. I escape, I sleep, I daydream there. I cry when I have to. I feel loved when I feel I’m not. I am safe, safely tucked away in the corners of the world, no worries till I rise up again from the covers. I don’t hear Life screaming at me, I don’t see Life fading away, I don’t taste Life’s bittersweet sorrows. I am gone from the world till morning. My bed is my refuge. Why? Because its covers hold me when I’m sad, its pillow wipes my tears when I cry, its softness lulls me away from the tumult to solitude. Need I say any more?
My best childhood memory…
It was eighth grade year. There was a dance for us eighth graders who would be leaving that year. It was chilly that night. I stood outside, listening to the music blaring inside.
My friend Matthew came out and stood by me for awhile. I finally broke the silence, admitting something to him that night.
“I hate my life.”I stared at him intently, daring him to say it, to say that I’m being selfish, that I’m naïve, that I have nothing to hate about in my life. I was basically begging him to say such words so I could scream at him and how it’s always the same. He looked at me and, after a while, began to chuckle and then burst out laughing. I was surprised, but I looked at his laughing form, understandingly. His laughter was not mocking, but bitter. "You're an idiot," he said after calming down.
My eyes widened and I snapped at him. "What did you say?"
"You're an idiot! Don't say that! It hurts me to hear you say that..."
He turned away from me and I looked at him wide-eyed. I smiled a little and felt tears building up in my eyes. You see, every time I said those words "I hate my life", I was always told the same thing over and over again. “Oh, you're being naïve" or "you're being selfish." No one ever stopped to say, “Don’t say that” or “it hurts me to hear you say that.” Everyone just continued comparing me to themselves, always saying how bad i was being when I had nothing to be sad about since they’ve had harder.
"I want you to know that if you ever dare end your life, I'll end my own, come after you, and make sure that you'd never have such a thought again in your next life!" he said, grabbing my shoulders tightly with his hands. I smiled a little and embraced him.
"Thanks" I whispered. He chuckled, as usual and nodded before returning my hug.
"No problem."
My absolute best.
I always feel my best at Borders on a rainy day. Because it is raining outside, there usually aren’t a lot of people around. I like sleeping in there on such days, all the way in the back, surrounded by books about Wicca and numerology. As some of you know, I hate reading, so you must be wondering why I would feel my absolute best there in a book store full of books that you read. One thing first, I hate reading books that I don’t find interesting. In Borders, I am surrounded by books of various genres. I can pick one up and skim it, put it back down and go to the next one. I like reading what I want to read, and hate assigned readings.
For some reason, it just so happens that it is there I feel my absolute best.
Sipping a cup of Seattle’s Best Coffee while reading something on a rainy day is the way to go. It’s not that I feel relieved of stress, it’s just that it takes me away from the computer, which appears to me to be the cause of all drama in my life. It takes me away from the constant clamoring in the house. It takes me away from everyone for a bit and there, for some reason, I just feel like I am more mature and serious.
Haha, funny thing is, I hate being mature and serious. I find such things to be the bane of people’s youth. I hate it when people tell me to be more serious or to grow up and act more mature. But weird thing is, in Borders, I relish the feeling. No one sees me that way, but I feel like I can get everything done there. I feel different, independent, and self-sufficient. It’s just one of the best feelings in the world. I feel great.
The most soothing sound I can imagine is silence. Silence is golden as they say. The constant clamor always ends up creating drama, which creates chaos, which creates more problems and then, I want to scream at everyone and pull my hair out. Silence is really the only sound that takes that all away. (The silence is a sound. You’ve heard it before right after going to a booming rock concert and ending up on the lonely streets.)
Colors. They are the sweetest and most bitter things in the world. The color black affects my mood the most. I feel most comfortable in it. It’s not because I’m emo or anything, it’s just, whenever I wear black, I feel a bit better. Black is a lovable color. It accepts every color unlike its sister White who rejects them all.
When do I feel most at ease?
I’m going to bring back my bed into this. At night, I feel most at ease. It is because I get to go to bed and my bed is the one thing I look forward to everyday. Coming home to my bed brings me comfort in my mind. I’m sure it won’t be leaving me anytime soon. When everything decides to change, when everything decides to fall apart, I’ll have my little sanctuary to return to every night. At night, I am free of my worries. That is all I want. I love the night.
To Jen:
"When the weather gets nice and warm, I'll find myself sitting in a chair by the pool with my doggie, staring up at the sky or stars, and falling asleep outside. It's the best feeling in the world. I can just sit and think and let my mind organize its self."I really like the way you described the place you go to when you need to escape the pressures of life because it isn't one physical area, but rather a mental one. I also understand what you mean by sitting there and thinking being one of the best feelings in the world. I complete agree.
Also, about the childhood memory, WHAT?!?! YOU GUYS DIDN'T GET TO GO?!?! WHAT IS THIS?!? >//////////< Man, that sucks! But I can understand how happy you were when you beat them that time. Softball is very important to you and I find it very admirable of all athletes that continue playing regardless of all the negative feelings that come with the sport sometimes. You guys rule!
I look forward to reading the rest of your post. ^_^
...I would say I feel the absolute best when I’m sleeping. No one is disturbing me and I wake up on my own accord without the screaming of my parents to get me up in the morning. I love just being warm in my own bed and not having to worry about getting ready for school on time and all that crap. But besides being lazy, the other time I feel the absolute best is when I’m playing softball. Not competing but just shagging flys in the outfield and enjoying the warmth of the summer. I can’t really describe it but you get what I mean.
The most soothing sound would probably be rain like Molly and Hil said. Just hearing it banging on the roof and watching everything gradually become saturated with water is soothing. Another sound I love is the click-clock sound of a horse waling on concrete or a hard surface. The sound of their shoes in a 1-2-3-4 step is just something you grow to love. Similarly, the sound of cleats on a hard floor is a sound that is like music to your ears. Don’t judge me.
Colors that affect my mood would be bright colors. Most times they bring happiness but sometimes, if they are too bright they are irritating and really piss me off. But also darkness has an affect on my mood. A lot of times complete darkness is relieving. It can be symbolized with sleep which is one reason why dark colors are somewhat relaxing.
Besides going to sleep at whatever ridiculous hour, I feel the most at ease when I get home from being at school for ten hours. I’m either exhausted from schoolwork, tests, soccer, or softball and all I need to do is lay down and rest my eyes for an hour. This time is the most relaxing because I am able to forget about all the other things I need to do, even if it’s just for an hour until I need to do three more hours of homework.
"You know what will make me look happy? Having the code team staffed, having the trauma pages answered, having the weekend labs delivered and having someone down in the pit doing the sutures. No-one holds a scalpel until I'm so happy I'm Mary Freakin' Poppins."
- Grey’s of course! =)
If I could escape, and recreate a place as my own world...oh wait, that’s a song. Ha! Well, this is hard. I’ll just go with what I would want my happy place to be right now. I really love little areas that are nice and cozy. For example, if I’m on my bed, sometimes I’ll surrounded the edges with pillows just for the sake of feeling enclosed. So, my happy place would be on a cool, breezy night, when all I want to do is snuggle up in my make-shift fort. I would make it so that everything was at my fingertips. It would be my little hideout. There, there would be no one except me. No friends. No guys. No parents. No nothing. Just me and everything I could possibly want. I would have one wall of my fort have a protruding bar-like structure, and whatever I desired to eat and drink, I could receive there. Another wall would be lined with crafts, books, toys (yes, toys), and other fun things to do to keep me occupied. I would also have a built-in music device within my wall that played any song I could EVER imagine. Even if I don’t know what song I want, it would read my mine and pick a suitable song. Why? Because that’d be so AMAZINGG!!! I would just lie there, on my floor which would be a triple-sized, king-sized bed and relax. Then I would be able to think carefully over my stresses if necessary, and find a reasonable solution. WHY????? I would choose this place because it just seems so relaxing to me, and a place where my thoughts can easily be sorted and categorized.
My best childhood memory. Christmas. Christmas at my house used to be so thrilling. My mother, sister, and I would bake cookies from scratch. My mom would make the dough. My sister would dye it, and then we would all use the cookie cutters to make extravagant cookies, I liked the green ones the best. The green Christmas trees. I remember we did that on Christmas Eve I believe. At night, I would write a letter to Santa, and leave it next to a big glass of milk and the best looking cookies. We would all camp out in the family room, facing all different directions. I would always face the chimney, in hopes that I would get a glance of the elusive Santa Claus. I never did. However, every morning, on Christmas Day, I would find some cookies missing and others with bits taken out of them. My letter was no were to be found, though I found a different one in its place. One written not by me, but by none other than the jolly St. Nick!!! I would read it earnestly, and always felt satisfied when he’d said I was a good girl this year. Oh boy, did I love Christmas. I still do, but it’s different now. I’m older, and now I have to make it special for my niece, Kimora. It is less fun, but still fulfilling I guess. I still wish someone would do that for me though. =\
I seriously have no clue when I feel my absolute best. I feel happy and content most of the time...hmm...the only thing I can think to say is when I’m with my sister. We tell each other everything without holding anything back. I guess I feel my best around her because I can be almost 100% Megan around her.
The most soothing sound is the ocean, or a rain forest waterfall. I don’t know how to explain it other than it makes me calmer and more passive. I become tranquil and all my muscles just relax and unwind.
Well, haha, I would be lying if I said that “yellow” wasn’t the first color that came to my head. Yellow only affects me because of how much I have to be compared to it. Otherwise, I think the colors that affect me the most are green and black. Green, because of nature and Spring and how everything is blooming and growing. It makes me feel natural, and generally happier. Black is serious or dangerous or disastrous. It makes me feel sad or moody.
I think I feel most at ease when I first wake up. I don’t remember any of my troubles or worries. All that’s on my mind is sweet sleep and dreams. I love sleeping. So when I wake up, I am happy and feel refreshed...like a lemon. Plus, I like lemons. Very much. =)
“If I could escape & recreate a place that's my own world
& I could be your favourite girl (forever), Perfectly together
Tell me boy now wouldn't that be sweet? (sweet escape)”
-The Sweet Escape
Finally, back to one of the chill blogs we all know.
I have the luxury of having a few places I can turn to when I'm stressed out. Usually, when I'm just at home and really can't go anywhere, the porch can be the best place. Fortunately for me, I'm one of those Mullicans that live out in the good old peace and quiet. If I'm really stressed out, I like to just go out on my porch and sit subliminally(adjective?) waiting for an answer to my situation or until I jut calm down. I stretch out on my furniture out there and just relax, maybe to some of Eddie Vedder's saddest vocals, until my mind clears enough that I can move on with the day/night. Sometimes if I really just need to go blow off some steam or the stress is killing me, and the only thing I want to really do is be alone, I like to go take a walk to my field. Once again, being one of them cavemen-hinterland folk isn't such a bad thing some times. My family owns property back to the next road, and in between there is some woods and a small field. I spent a lot of time there as a kid and like to take walks back there. The best for me is at night when I'm all alone just looking at the stars. That's usually when I can get my life best sorted out at the time. Then there is always Batsto....another Mullican accessory. Well, to me it's more of an necessity. It's this historic village/state park place that my families basically in love with. When I'm having a really rough day and I can get there, I like to take a walk there. I guess I just have connected with that place so much over the years it's become like my second home both figuratively and literally. The peace and quiet on almost any given day combine with the awesome landscape seems to do the best job at helping my mind and my emotions. It's my own private chill zone.
I would have to say my best child memory would be of Jesse Kronk and me running through the woods thinking we were war heroes. Of course, freaks like us would run around pretending were shooting people just because we were all hyped up from watching the Band of Brothers all the time. There was just something about those days that still catch me; it's probably why we want to be in the military so badly. Whether it be driving in our jeep pretending to fight off SS troops or running through the woods to pick up a downed pilot, we always seemed to have fun. Sure it was weird, but what did you expect from me?
Believe it or not, I think I feel my absolute best when I'm on the football field. Now, that sounds like it makes absolutely no sense, considering a few factors. For one thing, your mind has to react to a million different things going on at once; and the fact that you have a bunch of guys basically trying to kill you doesn't help the matter. Any normal person would probably think it's one of the most stressful situations they can be in. Then again, I'm not at all normal.... There is just something about the field and playing the game that helps me feel good. Between chasing quarterbacks & trucking lineman; forcing fumbles & blocking passes; breaking faces & getting broken, I just feel this point where everything feels good. Physically, I just feel all this energy pumping in my veins. I can out perform and out do almost anything that comes in my way. I'm in my top shape in a game. Sure 750 lb. of linemen can get a little stressful at times, but that doesn't really bother me for the most part. Mentally, I just let go of everything. I just turn into a crazed maniac just filled of joy and rage all at once. I Release all the negative energy that I feel on a daily basis and let the Gods of Football fill my heart with pure passion and love for the game. I feel on top of the world, even when I'm not performing to the best of my ability. Football becomes my cause, the field my kingdom.
The most soothing sound I can really imagine would be something I get to here a lot, or at least most of the sound. That sound is just talking with my friends chilling in a kayak down the river. It just always seems to relax me and always seems to take all kinds of weight off of me, at least for a fine hour or so on the river. I love just hanging there in the first place, and my friends being there talking about life in general just makes me appreciate everything that much more.
I would have to say blue, black, and red affect my mood more than anything. Blue makes me feel chill for what ever reason. I like to think I just associate it with the water which I love being in, whether it be the ocean or the river or a lake or anything. Red and black tend to be the ones that get me fired-up or slightly sad in some cases. Like right now, I'm thinking of red because I'm pissed off at my mom. They are my favorite colors, fur as much as they effect my mood.
I think the most relaxing part of the day is right when I get home from school. Usually I am coming home from practice, and I have a lot of stuff to do. However, there is always that little bit of time between homework and getting home where I just relax, maybe get some food because I'm constantly hungry. Usually that's when I feel my best because I just have nothing really to worry about. I can just relax for a second before I have to get back in line with what ever I was planning on doing. I just feel like all this weight I feel everyday is being lifted at that time and I don't have to worry about it c0ming crashing down.
Sorry it's so long and cumbersome. It just was such a nice opportunity to rant.
I must say that I was at little bit of a loss when trying to start this blog. However, when this happens I tend to read others’ posts and eventually that sparks a light in my head. This time it’s no different. The inspiration, or muse, this time: Hilary. So, thanks Hil! :) After reading about how you used to play the piano, I thought long and hard about what really alleviates my stress. I came up with two things: music and books, specifically Harry Potter.
Music is the panacea (now that I know what the means) for every emotion and feeling: sadness, anger, stress, exhaustion, hatred, the list goes on and on. In order to escape these emotions, I either bang out tunes on the ol’ piano or blast tunes from my million-year old speakers attached to my red, iPod nano. Each provides a different manor of relief. The former is like a stress ball, just with different noises instead of the monotone, plastic sounding “squeak”. A swift, finger flex and my emotions are instantly poured out through my hands. Anger and stress bellows in the bass of the piano. Quick, staccato movements mark the emotion, which fuels my playing. I am quickly lost in raging, minor melodies; it’s like being on the battleground of 300. As my fingers dance across the snow-colored keys, the song changes, the rage dissipates, and a beauty, elegant melody emerges from a cocoon of anger. The red melts into calming blues and soothing yellows as familiar, classical pieces flow throughout the room. The walls vanish; I am lost in the music, no, I AM the music and the music is me. We are one until my tiny stress relievers can handle no more and collapse from exhaustion. I am quickly dropped back into reality, but time has flown by even quicker. For what seems like two minutes, I have been playing my emotions through other’s masterpieces and hours have past. Even if I am unable to play my way through stress, I can blast my way through it with prerecorded music. Strong rhythm marks the being of my escapade to alleviate stress. Strong, driving rhythms, so completely devoid of lyrics, only instruments fill my head. Gently I am lowered, as the rhythm slows, and words are added, usually to mimic or mock my current state. I meld into the music, just as before. Eventually I am ripped from my harmonious paradise, by the squawk of my parents demanding I do something productive.
My other oasis is the world of Harry Potter. I could get lost in the words of Rowling, and usually do. Duels, dragons, and dungeons fill my mind as I tear through my second drug of choice. Magic awes me, and reading about it immediately brightens my mood. I see spells flying, “Petrificus Totalus”, “Expelliarmus”, “Confundus”. Bright blue sparks light up the sky as blood-red ones blaze a path of fire. They collide creating a light explosion unlike any other; the result is indescribable. This world of magic and mayhem allows me to become someone else, at least for a brief period, and escape the stresses and triteness of everyday life.
In both cases, I can leave my stresses behind and take on a new persona. I experience life from a different perspective and I feel unbeatable.
My best childhood memory, now, that’s a tough one. Not because I had a horrible childhood because I most definitely didn’t. No, it is because I have two or three instances that could qualify but they can’t all be “the best”. I have one but it is going to make me look like a total nerd, but whatever. Rewind seven and a half years, and 10 year-old Matt will be staring you in the face. Same messy, curly brown hair and mud colored eyes just much shorter and chubbier. I am escorted on to the banana yellow school bus and head off to Mullica. Today is library day, and it is the first time we will be able to borrow any book we want from the limited but eclectic literature that lines the dark maple brown, four-shelved bookcases that line the wall. I slowly survey the surround selections realizing just how vast our library was, or at least how vast it was to a 10 year old. I hasten my step and wandering into the fiction section. My eyes pass Barker and Hawthorne and Hurston. My eyes slowly graze over the O’s and P’s. Then I stop at the R’s. I pull out a fairly thick book and run to the librarian. I question her about the book as she lifts up the pair of glasses dangling around her neck, attached only by a black chord. She sings nothing but praise of its fantasy plot, hidden world, and amazing characters. My eyes glisten as she simply repeats everything I love in a book. I slam it upon the counter and she scans my barcode and hands me the book. I can’t wait! I am so eager to read that I can’t contain my joy. That night I show my mom my prize possession and explain why it’s so great. I earnestly throw back the cover and bring to read, unfortunately, my fourth grade reading capacity isn’t enough. I dejectedly trudge back to my backpack to put my unreadable treasure away. My mom notices the gloom expressed by my sour face and implores, “What’s wrong?” I explain that the book is much too difficult for me to read and that I have to put it away. She laughs and smiles saying, “Bring the book here; we’ll read it together.” I jump upon my mom’s lap and we delve in the magical world of Harry Potter for the first time.
Oddly enough, I feel best when I am asleep in my own bed, so between the hours of 9:30 and 8:00, on average. For me, when I am sleeping is when I can truly relax and unwind. I can enter the world of magic through my dreams and have music to mimic my emotion. I can control my reality, well, fantasy really, and make it whatever I want it to be. If I wanted flying purple elephants with lime-green polka-dots to have a duel with Lord Voldemort than so be it as I command. Of course, the elephant would win because Voldy is deathly afraid of lime-green, or at least he is in my dream. The rules of reality don’t apply; I control every outcome and every roll-of-the-die. Does this mean I’m power-hungry? Probably, but mostly is shows that when I can control the outcome and nothing is left up to chance I can truly relax and enjoy what my dreams have to offer.
The most soothing sound I can imagine is a harp. It is gentle yet powerful, meek yet soulful, and kind yet relentless. The sounds of a harp are like the words of heaven. I feel the harp is probably the instrument of choice up there. The calming plucking of strings provides for a serene environment as one note flows into the next. The fact that the harp can be so discordant, but usually isn’t, is one of the most attractive features to me.
Colors, truthfully don’t affect my mood. I see my mood in colors like red is anger blue is calmness and so on, but they don’t seem to have a direct affect upon how I am feeling, at least, I don’t think they do. However, when I stare at my walls, my anger and stress seem to fade away. Maybe it’s only a coincidence, but my walls are a fairly light shade of blue, although not my idea. The only other “color-mood” occurs when I am surrounded in a sea of black, white, or a mixture of the two. I hate lack of color. It drives me bananas. I want colored posters, pictures, sayings, chalk, everything. I want liveliness, which, for me, is the opposite of a black and white scale. I desire Technicolor. So, I guess, lack of color makes me mad and blue calms me down…maybe colors do affect me in more ways than I know…
I feel most at ease when I first wake up in the morning. After a long night of fighting off dragons and dueling with Deatheaters, I am relaxed and ready to go. The moment I wake up I feel an overwhelming calm flow over my body and envelop me. What really seals the deal is when I wake up to the warm sun peaking in the window, which isn’t all that often. The gentle warmth of the sun, the pride in “job” well done, and waking up refreshed, there is nothing like it. It calms me to the point that I don’t want to leave the bliss but sadly must. It is these times that make me most at ease, that allow me to truly appreciate everything I have been given.
I have many a happy place.
Which one I use depends on the situation, but all of them have to do with media (except for one, but I won't be talking about my safey safe in a school blog, haha)
Usually, I'll pop on my headphones and pump up the sound. It's funny how half the world of music only makes sense when you're irate, miserable, or elated. As you head to one of these extremes, a whole new library opens its doors.You're never going to listen to The Sex Pistols or Social-D out of boredom, but you'll listen to them for hours when you're venting.
However, I find it’s detrimental to listen to music while depressed. Trust me. It ruins songs, because they'll only force you to relive that moment every time you listen to them after ‘recovery.’ So what do I do? I watch children's television. It's one of the few things keeping me from diving into the depths of insanity.
Why? Curious George's cuteness permeates your soul. It is IMPOSSIBLE to cry and watch Curious George at the same time, because anything serious enough will have you crying so hard you can't see through the tears.
It’s really hard for me to just pick random favorites, especially when it comes to memories. I can’t even decide on my favorite pokemon (though I’ve been leaning towards Weezing lately). I do admit I really miss the old days. I even miss the recent days where I was actually good at something. I feel like I haven’t been good at anything all year. Looking back, it seems like I was always an Elite “Something.” I used to be ranked in SSBM, GunZ, Crimson Skies, Dead or Alive, Academics, and I was even pretty good at chess waaay back in the day. Yes, I know most of those are video games. I’m not ashamed. In fact, I’m even more proud of my status as 76th of 110,000 Crimson Skies pilots than when I was 1st in the class. Maybe that doesn’t make sense to you, but it meant the world to me, especially since I did it with the Mini Gyro, which was conceived to be the worst plane, since it wasn’t even a plane, per say.
I’ve always tried to use the least common vehicles in my life’s road. In SSBM, I couldn’t really pull off a tourney-viable pichu, but you better believe I’d sandbag pre-tourney money matches with him. In Dead or Alive, I was the #2 Bass user (there was this one amazing chick who was #1 with about 5 characters).
I’m sorry if that makes little or no sense to any laypersons out there. Basically, I use a VW Bug in a Ferrari circuit. It’s still a car, but the 80 mph top-speed just won’t cut it for most people. The disadvantage makes it so much more fun, though. When you finally rise to that success, the victory shall taste oh-so-much sweeter.
*I'll finish later.
When ever I was stressed out, I used to just jump in the bath tub and spend hours in there. Doing that takes up a lot of time and usually makes my parents mad because we only have one bathroom. Recently, I found a neat place. On Friday, I was out with my friend roaming around town in my car. We decided to go down the road past Misty Pines and I made two rights. I ended up on Maple Ave., which happened to be at night one of the most creepiest roads I’ve ever driven on. Despite the creepiness at night because of the lack of street lights and houses, it seems like a great place to go think. For miles, there are no houses and basically its just woods. There’s a little lake and signs that say BEWARE MINING. What’s up with that? Who knew there’s mining in Jersey? I sure didn’t. This road eventually ends at a cemetery, so I’m guessing this is Estell Manor. I’d love to go back there a lone. Not sure if I could actually do so. I love being a lone and by myself, but down a no man’s land road is sort of intimidating. Besides this new discovery, I would always run a mile to three miles just to forget about any nonsense holding me back. My ear phones would be pumping out jams and my legs would move quickly to escape everything. It was bliss. Anything physical relieves my stress and tension. It has to be a lone. Being with others while I’m in a need of my quiet time usually just starts conflict because the close proximity.
I hate my childhood. So finding the “best” one is a bit hard. My best one had to be when my Dad was a live. When my parents were sort of separated… when he moved out… he would pick me up at my house. I had to be about three or four years old. It’s funny because being so young, you think you can’t remember anything. However when traumatic events occur, these incidents happen to remain in the front of your filing cabinet in your brain. My Dad would pick me up after eating my cheese sandwich and take me to Tunnels of Fun. This had to be the best place of my childhood. As a kid, you were allowed to be free with yours shoes off bouncing everywhere and climbing through everything. It was perfect. This could be the best. Or perhaps the time when I was in my back yard driving in the truck with my Dad.
This is probably why I like car rides so much. I don’t really like driving, but I love being able to have high volume music and cruising on roads that swerve. I love this road on my way to Hammonton. It might be called Weymouth road, but I’m not sure. The road is just full of turns and swerves with very little traffic. The scenery is not too shabby either. I’ve gone about 85-90 on this road. It was so exhilarating. I use to always run when I got stressed out especially around this time of year at Estell Manor park. However, running is a routine. I need to get back to that routine. I’m at my highest weight ever. I feel my absolute best when I’m doing unpredictable things like these. This is why I keep running shoes and jogging pants in my car now. I love the idea of being spontaneous. I wish I was more spontaneous because my whole life things have been so orderly at home.
Going back again to the running thing at Estell Manor park, this park words wonders on stress. There’s boardwalk through the woods and you see all sorts of animals and bugs. They make sounds, which are pretty soothing. I’m not sure if I exactly get soothed by sounds. I like smells, touching, and seeing more than hearing. My sister when I slept over would listen to nature cds before going to bed. The sound of the waves get annoying after a while. If I really had to pick a sound it would be the fury thunderstorms unravel and the rain that hits the window pane.
Colors. This is funny because whenever I needed something silly to cheer me up, I would paint my finger nails a funky color like puke green or metallic blue. Bright or silly colors just make me smile. This is why I would highlight a lot because highlighting made me want to go back and reread. Anything bright is comforting and refreshing. Lately, I’ve been loving black. Not sure why possibly because I’ve been pretty stressed and miserable lately. Black and maroon stiffens me, since they are darker colors.
I love morning. I may not be exactly a morning person, but I love knowing I have the rest of the day ahead of me. I’m able to take my time and lay in bed for hours until I’m ready to rise. Getting up early and accomplishing a lot is very satisfying.
Where do I like to go to escape the pressures of life? The potty. Just kidding. My room. It took me some years to actually accept that it was a little girl’s room, no seriously it is, but I love it now. Once that door closes shut, it’s a pink wonderland of joy. My bed is my magic carpet where I get to day dream for endless hours. My television is my movie screen where I get to watch movies and cry about them like the stupid emotional person that I am. My floor is my stage where I get to “sing” and “dance” in front of a mirror, aka my audience.
Well you see I can’t really recall my “best” memory because I have Alzheimer’s disease and sometimes I don’t even know the name for tissue. It’s sad but anyways yeah I got nothing. My best memories where around Christmas time but all I remember was getting the best presents ever (dolls), and going over my godmother’s house where I would get money and a belly full of turkey. The kids would always play tag in the dark. I was always “it” but I still had fun.
I don’t really care where I am or what time of day or year it is as long as I’m with the people I love I’m having the best time of my life. They make me feel accepted, loved, cared about, and I could be my complete self around them and that’s the best feeling in the world.
The acoustic guitar is pretty soothing, especially when a Spanish dude plays it. (lol) there is just something about a guitar that makes me feel like I’m walking on the beach at sunset with the wind blowing in my hair and the sand tickling my feet. It’s amazing. =)
Pink and blue affect my mood the most. Pink is my favorite color and whenever and wherever I see pink I have to yell, “PINK!” It just brings a smile across my face and it could bring a practice essay exam down a level of horribleness. Blue is the color of the clear blue sky and although I’d like the clouds to cover some of it for the sake of my eyes, it is still beautiful. It’s just so pretty and I could just stare at it for hours.
I love the night time. It’s when I get to enter dream world and I love dreaming. At night time I get to wash the thoughts of the day and just relax until I have to wake up at 6 am all over again. Ugh.
Meg
"It would be my little hideout. There, there would be no one except me. No friends. No guys. No parents. No nothing. Just me and everything I could possibly want. I would have one wall of my fort have a protruding bar-like structure, and whatever I desired to eat and drink, I could receive there. Another wall would be lined with crafts, books, toys (yes, toys), and other fun things to do to keep me occupied. "
Your hide out seems pretty rad! I love being enclosed, too. I could never feel trapped. It's funny that you would have crafts. I still wish I was as creative as you are. You never seize to surprise me with all the artsy stuff you have. lol.. that one time I asked you if you had a marker, and you pulled out a bucket full of mini markers.
Hilary R.,
Your blog was very conversational and that is right up my alley. lol. I love the sound of the rain too. It's awesome =). Oh and very nice concluding paragraph. haha
A lot of my childhood stress came from my family, of course (it still does, but not as much). My parents never got along and always fought over my brother and I, but all we could do was remain helpless in the middle of everything. So when I experienced times where I needed to get away from it all, I would do a mixture of outdoor activities (because my dad’s house had a lot of open yard space). My room had a balcony where I would go at night sometimes after a disturbing dinner. Other days, when it was nice out but I didn’t want to be bothered, I’d go for a run or take a walk around the yard, in the trails and down the long, curvy driveway. This is where I’d still like to go, but I don’t live there anymore. So I’ve had to create even more ways to relieve my stress (which wasn’t easy living in a small house right on the road). Where I live now, I can’t really go outside without anyone seeing me and there aren’t enough rooms for me to be alone in because everything is so close. I am stuck in my own room which is right between the kitchen and living room where EVERYONE always is. It stinks. But most of the time, all of my stress piles up and attacks me all at once when I’m home at night while everyone is sleeping, which is good. So what it all comes down to is; I lay in bed with all the lights off, put on a good movie and ignore everybody. The darkness calms me, the movie puts me in a trance while distracting me from my own life and ignoring people prevents anymore problems from arising. It’s my favorite thing to do when I need to get away.
It’s really difficult for me to choose my best childhood memory because after not thinking about it for a while, you start to forget. And that is kind of my purpose because I didn’t really like my childhood anyway. But if I had to choose, it would probably be at summer camp with my best friend Vinny. We did everything together so everybody thought we ‘liked’ each other (because it was unusual to see eleven year olds so close I guess?). I don’t know, but it was funny. We made such good memories; swimming, playing games, eating lunch. It was a time during the day where I could get away from my family and have a good time with my friends.
I feel my absolute best when I wake up on my own to a bright summer morning knowing I have the rest of my day to do as I please. The sun and warmth makes me extremely happy, so I’m naturally in a good mood, while I know I got a good nights rest because I slept until 12. (:) hehe) I will probably go to the beach, lay by my friends’ pool or go play soccer (which is basically what I do everyday in the summer). I absolutely love it.
The most soothing sound to me is DEFINITELY the ocean. Like I mentioned in my previous answer, I love everything about summer and the ocean is a big part of it. I could spend a whole day on the beach (preferably a more deserted one), relaxing in my chair while falling asleep to the sound of the crashing waves. They are so beautiful and soothing; I wish I could live closer to it so I can go there when I’m stressed :P.
I don’t think colors affect me as drastically as they do some people. I think it all depends on how I’m already feeling. For instance, if I’m looking for something to wear, the colors I like most will be the ones I’m attracted to first; blues, greens etc. But they don’t necessarily ‘affect’ my mood because I pick out what I want based on how I’m already feeling. And THAT all depends on where I’m going! I don’t know, this probably doesn’t make sense, but I tried my best.
I feel the most at ease when I know I have finished everything that I needed to get done. This happens at different times every day, so I can’t give it a set time. But knowing that I have everything accomplished takes a lot off my mind so I am finally able to relax. This happens a lot right before I go to bed on days I’ve successfully completed my homework and studied for which ever test I have the next day (but sometimes don’t I feel this way until after I finally take the test.. if I know I’ve done well). I am very comfortable when I feel this way :).
Hiiiilaryy-
"Seriously, I have been a spoiled little girl because when I read this question, millions of things flashed through my mind- perfect days in Cape May, spotting hummingbirds on the wire (don't ask), surprise banana pancake breakfasts, summer days spent at the river at Thurston (<3!!!!), Mullica best friends, Mullica softball families, etc., etc."
I'm extremely jealous of all you mullicans.. I live in a very woodsy, secluded area like you guys, but i've never been able to experience school and such like you have. While I've already lost touch with people I went to school with in galloway (and I only moved away 5 years ago), you've been with the same people forever and have made life-long friends and memories!! All that you listed seem so cute! And I can barely remember anything good that happened when I was a kid.. pathetic :P. love you <3
p.s. i like rain toOoo especially storms! :)
Carlise-
"2 minutes" - Hearn
I lOveeee our meditation time tooo. He better keep doing it even after we leave.. I sit right on the goal line and imagine the ball crossing it a million different ways that I'm going to score ;) <3
Where do I go?
Sweet heart, if I knew that, I would definitely tell you. JK.
When I need to escape, I go to a number of places that I tend to go.
The physical places I go are relatively remote since, well, I don't
really need to be around people to be in a happy place. I doubt that
surprises anyone, Myra not needing to be around people to be happy.
Anyway, one of the places I go is in the woods across the street from
my house. Deep in these woods, there's a tipped over tree and a small,
destroyed well that's flooded with water. It's really pretty; the tree
is in the center of this small cluster of dead pines that have all
collapsed into each other, their roots all rotten and exposed and just
teeming with all sorts of little critters that make these places home.
This tipped tree sits in the middle of this ring, branches flailing
backwards, living roots clumped together with clods of rich black dirt
that smells like iron and eel grass (if you've never smelled eel grass,
it just smells really clean and fresh, like it's been set out in the
rain and is really cold.) Right in front of this tree are the remnants
of an old well that was struck by lightning and sunk into the mud, the
water overflowing the top and flooding the land nearby. I sit on the
tree roots like a chair and stare out at the woods that go out passed
the well and think. It's really quiet there except for the local birds
that are constantly chirping about this or that, but it's pleasant
enough.
Now onto the not physical places I tend to find myself wondering off
into through out the day. The first of these would have to be my mind
palace I created a few years ago. I got the idea from reading Hannibal
and later Hannibal Rising and have been hook on the idea of a Mind
Palace ever since. It's really nice there and it holds all of my
memories, ALL of my memories. It's really cool since it's really a lot
more like a museum than a palace, but whatever. I'll describe the main
entrance just so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about. There
is no doorway, but rathe a large arch made of white marble and granite
stone supported by two romanesque columns. The columns and archway are
engraved by and intertwining design of grapevine, roses, willow
branches, and cherubs. I got that idea from a jacket my sister gave
me, and it is rather beautiful. Behind the archway, the walls are
covered with a soft, crush velvet paper that has just the faintest
hints of gold inlay in the pattern of more grapevine and this tapers up
the wall while willow branch designs taper down. The ceiling is high,
near impossible to see from the ground which is comprised of polished
white lyme stone. But the ceiling has a rotunda like design, arching
upwards and from the apex of the rotunda hangs down the crystal
chandelier that is adorned with softly lit candles and golden inlays on
the chains. This all hangs above a fountain of the Angel Moroni, who
balances in front of yet another angel that is weeping, her arms spread
wide in a wanting if not slightly desperate manner as if she wants to
be embraced. The water shimmers gold, reflecting both the chandelier
and the gold inlay from the walls. Yeah, that just marks the ENTRANCE
to the Mind Palace, not the actual inside of the whole thing itself.
THis is where I go when I need to get away from it all. Not bad if I
say so myself.
Now, as for my best childhood memory? This took quite a bit a
rummaging to come up with. I had to sort through quite a bit a junk
from my childhood I still haven't finished organizing yet. When I was
about eight or so, I had gotten my own, personal tent from my father as
an early Easter present. For anyone that really knows me, they know
that I am a sucker when it comes to camping and tents. I love tents.
The first tent I ever got was a James and the Giant Peach tent for my
fifth birthday and it was shaped like a giant peach. Dorothy and I
would set it up in our room a sleep in it on top of our Barbie and
He-Man sleeping bags (guess who had the He-Man bag XD!) Anyway, it was
the start of sumer and Dorothy and I set up my new tent in the back
yard (aka the part that faces the street) and decided that we were
going to spend the first night of summer under the stars, just the two
of us. Needless to say, part way through the night a thunderstorm
rolled in and we were both awakened by a loud clap of thunder and the
sudden onset of rain striking the roof of the tent. I remember just
being so fascinated by what I saw when we unzipped the screen covering
the net window. The sky was lit up in the clouds with electricity as
it jumped from cloud to cloud above us, the occasional bolt coming down
somewhere on the other side of the river. It still is one of the most
beautiful, awe-inspiring things I have ever seen, sitting in that
little tent with my sister, watching the sky at Holy Crap It's Early
o'clock. And I really doubt that anything else could really, truly top
it, ever.
There is really only one place that I really fell my best at, and it
would have to be my bedroom. Now, I tend to whine and complain about
my room a lot to my friends since It isn't really a real room, in the
original designs to the extensions to the house that were done before I
was born, it was supposed to be a hallway out to a second floor patio
that would over look the river, but that was never done so we have this
random hall with a door on it that leads to nowhere- yeah, that's my
room. But I do love it, especially at night. There's this little
niche between my bed, dresser, and closet that I have really fallen in
love with over the years and for those that now what I'm talking about,
it has to be the greatest thing ever. It's big enough for me to spread
out on comfortably and is frames on all four sides, one by my bed, one
by my closet, one by my dresser, and one by the windows. It creates
this nearly enclosed area and it has become my all time favorite thing.
I've filled this place in with pillows and sheets and blankets and
stuffed animals and have made, in essence, what could be called a nest
for myself. So at night, after I rake my shower and have combed out my
hair and all that jazz, I turn out my lights and lay down in my nest-
every night- before I actually climb up to my bed to sleep. You see,
the window in my room is at just the right angle that when ever there's
a full moon or there are a lot of stars, the nest gets lit up and I can
see everything clearly through my window from my nest, something I
can't do from my bed. And it's even better when it's raining because
my nest gets really cool from the air coming through the window and I
just love cooled sheets, they just make me happy.
As for the most soothing sound I could imagine, I actually can't
decide. I would either have to say cat purrs, rain with just a slight
rumble of thunder, the music of a string quartet, or Anglican Chant.
Those are my top four sounds, my fave four I guess is the way to word
it. THey just make me feel good on the inside, what else can I say?!
I suppose I just really like the constant, incessant rhythm that they
all have, it just kind of lulls me into this peace, tranquil Myra that
I doubt anyone of you will ever see.
My favorite color though, isn't really a color though. Well yes, I do
like purple and Margarita green and Crazy Myra Orange (yes, that is a
color, just ask Sarah Crane!) but I really am more of a fan of a
certain mood color, a tonal color I guess. I love the light produced
by the moon when I comes into my room through the window. You see, the
light has to pass through some couple hundred tree branches so when the
light finally comes in, there is bright white light with just a slight
tinge of green clasping desperately to the outside and this just covers
everything it touches in an almost magical glow. Everything becomes
this color: bright white with just a tinge of green before it melts
into grey and then black in the depths of my room. It's pretty!
Now, the most at ease one is by far the hardest. See, I used to think
that I was the most at ease when I would write my stories or plan out
the nest big thing or idea for me to write, or even when I would draw
simply because after I finished, I would feel good about myself, like I
had just accomplished something important. But, that's a little
different. Writing for me, now, has taken a different turn. I get
really intense whenever I write things now, things that I personally
enjoy writing, such as the something-odd novels I'm currently doing
that I plan on getting published one day. Now... things have changed
when I write, I don't get thew relief I used to get when I finished
something, I just get this sudden feeling that I'm not done yet, that I
haven't finished anything, even when I have written sixty-odd pages in
one sitting. My mom watched me write once and she's never been in the
same room when I'm writing since. She says that it freaks her out,
that it's too intense for something that I claim to do for "fun." This
is what I look like when I am really "writing," because what you see
when I write in school is nonsense to how I can get when I am truly
working on something I care about. I'll sit at a desk or the kitchen
or dining room table or at the computer, a hat on my head (my current
one is the one Alison got my for my birthday, Thanks Ally!) and these
huge headphones sitting around my neck. These headphones are never
plugged into anything, and when they are, it never plays anything. I
don't know why I wear these dumb things, but I do, even though they
have no purpose what so ever. Anyway, I'll sit in my chair (or on the
floor) with a pen in my hand (fine point!) and a notebook open to a
clean page (even when I'm at the computer, these things are still close
at hand, just in case) and I think for a good half hour, not moving,
just staring at the paper, hand at the ready, plotting every single
last detail out in my head before I transfer it to the paper. Then
something just snaps in my head and I write non-stop till either I'm
done or get stuck, so this can be anywhere from five minutes to seven
hours later, which ever comes first. apparently when I'm like this,
I'm slouched over my notebook or keyboard, my head bobbing up and down
as I write, my hand making really fast gestures across the paper. I
become like this intense version of my self, like a more concentrated persona of me. My mom says that if I were placed into a box that could turn intensity into electricity, I could power Atlantic City. And for
a long time, this is what I considered to be my "at ease" self.
Do I need help or what?
Damn! this ended up being a lot longer than I thought it would be!
Sorry!
Eva: That does sound like the childhood I kind of figured you had,
hearing poetry at only heaven knows how young! And FYI: is it okay if
I use you as a basis for a person in Nahash's past because I got this
really interesting idea from what you said in our blog. Please?
Recently I have lost the idea of my happy place. The world around me has started to crumble. Everything that was once a staple in my life has become questionable. It is like a brick collapsing into just sand and stones. When this terrible nightmare consumes me I disappear even from myself. I try to escape from the situation, from my mind, and most importantly from my emotions. I hide away in a little ball, tucked away from the rest of the world. It helps me get away from everyone, and everything that is haunting me. In that ball nothing can hurt me and nothing can upset me. No random act from another person will get to me, and no drama will reach me. It is a safety net, but its’ pathetic and feeble.
My best childhood memory is of my brother. I would never admit this to him, nor to my parents but it is true. My brother and I were never very close. He didn’t live with us and was only around when I was very young. Yet, I always remember the countless hours he spent torturing me. He would lift me upside down and tickle me endlessly. I would scream, and cry and make a scene, but secretly I loved every second of it. I would run to my dad or to my mom and beg them to make him stop. Yet, once it stopped I would go back and put a thorn in his side thus he would continue to pick on me. His attention was all I desired. I would fire him up, only to complain and cry. I loved every second of that teasing, no matter how much I whined. It was the fact that for a little while he was paying attention to and loving me even it for a little while. Plus, I am the most ticklish person ever, and it became the best form of torture known to me.
I really hate where I feel my absolute best, thus I will merely describe the feeling. I feel the best when I am 100% Lindsey, when I am without judgment and without strings. When the strings of life and pressure pull hard on me I’m not my normal self. When I am myself I am completely happy, and a totally diverse person than what everyone sees. I become quirky but focused, light hearted but emotional, simple and easily amused. It transform into my favorite version of myself, where I can laugh at myself and feel completely content. I have that feeling with someone I know. It doesn’t matter nor affect this person in anyway because this person doesn’t know me any other way. They only see the me that is comfortable in my own skin and not afraid to say what needs to be said. I lose that shell when I’m around this person, I embrace who Lindsey really is.
The most soothing sound is the fan in my bedroom. It isn’t a ceiling fan, but more of a vent. When I’m frightened or lonely I wait for the peaceful sound of the vent clicking on and continuing its constant beat. It makes a nearly inaudible sound, but in the still of my bedroom I hear it effortlessly. The noise is what I fall asleep to most night because I wait for it. It calms me down and takes me out of this grief stricken world, it puts to rest the bad thoughts in my head. At bedtime I become a negative Nancy and over think the world and all its choices. I pick the things that bothered me most and exacerbate them to the fullest effect. Then I tend to blame myself for those disasters, which leads me to search at the running fan. Its effect is soothing and uplifting, because anytime I’m sleeping is a good time.
The color that appeals to me the most is pink. Whenever I wear a pink shirt or see something pink I feel comforted. I feel girly, which is a feeling I love to have. My room is pink, hence why this all started. Pink reminds me of my room, the location I favor most. My room is my sanctuary. It is where I usually curl up into my comfort ball. Pink reminds me of that feeling and makes me feel at peace with myself. Very bright colors repel my taste buds, I’m too much of a plain Jane for them.
My mornings put me most at ease. Regardless of the day, whether it is a weekday or a weekend. In the mornings I feel most energetic, most alive. It is a time where I am comfortable, and not over stressed nor overtired. Plus my mornings have a distinct pattern. Familiarity in my life is priceless, something I do not take lightly. I surround myself with a routine, seeing certain people at certain times. I come in contact with the people I care about the most every morning. That is something I love about life. Seeing those people like clockwork in the mornings is a beautiful wake up call. It is serene and always seems natural. People are important to my life, and well being hence wanting to spend so much time with them. It’s the people, and how I feel around them that brings me comfort, plus the familiarity. Unlike most of the world I love routines.
How ironic. A blog about happiness and peace during a time when this seems to be the last thing on any of our minds...oh Bunje...
When I feel pressured and stressed, there are a few different things that I like to do, depending mostly on the weather. If it's a fall day, I use soccer as my escape. The relaxing treelines, kick ass drills, and wonderful teammates tend to get my adrenaline pumping to the point where all worries are obliterated. In the winter, I become a stressball. I really need to come up with a better way to escape. Usually this is the time of year when my family takes a vacation. Except when it's a freakin recession! Ugh. Normally we alternate between Disney and skiing in Vermont. I would have to say that this is my winter escape. In the spring I am at my best and worst. I love the season, because it means the arrival of warm weather. And as a self-diagnosed seasonally depressed individual, this means a lot to me :) Simply going outside in the sun relieves all of my stress. It's amazing. THE RAIN NEEDS TO GO AWAY! Now, in the summer it seems like everything relieves stress for me- the beach, my pool, ice cream. LOVE it.
It is interesting to me that nature is often an escape for me. I love looking at the stars, taking walks in the woods, and going to the park. Feeling the sunlight warms my whole body right on up. This is probably the most notable escape that I have from the pressures of life.
Best childhood memory? Hmmm. I cannot pick just one. I always look fondly back on a few different things. For one thing, family vacations are amazing. The burn in my calves from a day of skiing, rosy cheeks, and hot chocolate all bring a smile to my face. Waiting in line for Splash Mountain as "It's a small workld" plays in the background also gets me really excited. In addition, I often think a lot about school when I was younger. I loved it. My teachers, friends, classes, everything was just so enjoyable. I remember distinctly many days of laughs and good times with friends and family, and it is usually these events that I consider my best childhood memories.
I often feel my absolute best on summer mornings when I get to sleep in. I love waking up up with my windows open, the sun rising, and myself all snuggled in my covers. I lay there without a care in the world, thinking about what my plans for the day are. Since it's summer they usually consist of seeing my friends or Mike, maybe working (which I love!), and lots of sunlight. What could be better?
There are a few soothing sounds that I love 1) the ocean 2) birds chirping 3) rain. It just depends on what kind of mood I am in.
I can say that I feel an affinity towards light purples/blues. They tend to relax me. Yellows and oranges, as well as other bright colors, usually make me excited. Black is one of my favorite colors to wear. Green is the color of my room, and thus makes me think of sleep.
Like most people, I feel the most at ease when I climb into bed. The day is done, and it is finally time to get some much needed sleep. I love sleeping!
"I feel my absolute best when I wake up on my own to a bright summer morning knowing I have the rest of my day to do as I please. The sun and warmth makes me extremely happy, so I’m naturally in a good mood, while I know I got a good nights rest because I slept until 12."
-Sara
Girl I LOVE that feeling too! Sleeping in is seriously the best feeling ever. And just being able to lay in bed, all nice and comfy, and know that the day ahead is going to be amazing...it's wonderful.
Whoo, I like this blog. Since I feel like shit, might as well do something a little bit more productive than Pokemon.
My sanctuary is my room, simple enough. It’s obviously the one place in the house where I’m free to shut the door, not listening to my parents complain, and crash. However, my mode of escape (asides from drifting off into my own little world) is (take a wild guess)… music.
I’ve been music centric since I was about 2. It’s allowed me to keep my head firmly attached to my neck, and not deny myself of happiness.
To me, music is poetry in motion. It’s the swing and soul of Mother Earth. It’s the manifestation of unity and peace, and happiness. It can be my counselor, the mentor, the friend when in need, or the backrub giver (sorry Jen). Well maybe not a backrub giver, since it doesn't really have hands.
True music is grand, awespiring, and can lift me off my feet and take me to a wonderful world. You know those cheesy (and rather one sided) “Above the Influence” commercials? Well, music would be my anti-drug.
A lot of people say they like (or love) music, but I don’t think to the extent that I do. I tend to take it to a whole new level. If there was some strange fetish for music, I’d probably have it. Just kidding, that sounds really weird, I take it back.
I think its music’s ability to convey any mood possible is what drives me to it. It’s a human being, but not.
Sadness, happiness, angst, confusion... All able to be expressed in music. It almost seems more human than most people, the ones who are about as emotional as a block of cheese.
And no, my idea of reducing stress isn’t always heavy metal. Actually, my favorite chill out songs are folk acoustic rock (Nick Drake, newer Chumbawamba) and jazz and jazz fusion (Davis, Greg Howe, Earl Klugh). However, for my exisistential crisis, I usually throw on some DevilDriver or Pantera.
Actually, to be specific, my happy place is my instruments. Whether it’d be my keyboard, my violin (which Kyle Frazee stole), trumpet, or guitar, they all provide the outlet that I feel is sorely lacking elsewhere.
Guitar would most likely be my favorite however. Imagine a marble slab, and you’re free to turn it into whatever you see. That’s the feeling I get from my guitar. Every cadence, crescendo, and harmonic carves notches into that slab of marble. Channeling Buddy Rich, Stevie Ray, or even Van Halen allows me to tear apart my negative emotions and calm myself. You’re also free to start again whenever you feel like it. Throw in a blues lick, shred a little, and bend that High E towards the sky. Like Robert Page said, "the hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands."
The greatest sound in the world is the guitar tone of Dean DeLeo, lead guitarist of STP. His tone from the album Tiny Music, No.4, and Army of Anyone is the pinnacle of the perfect tone for me. Fender Strat through a Marshall cabinet. It’s not too distorted nor too clean. Ample reverb, little delay. Phaser. Sprinkle of chorus. It gives me goosebumps. Or Freddy Mercury’s flawless and inhumane voice. It’s beauty is just incomprehensible. Any Queen that utilizes his vocal range (Killer Queen, Don’t Stop Me Now, Seaside Rendezvous) just automatically awes me.
My favorite childhood memory was when I thought my brother got kidnapped, because he went on his bike to go get me some food, and he didn’t return for a good two hours. Turns out he went to some girl’s house to play Yu-Gi-Oh (you read right), and forgot about me. I remember crying hysterically at the time, thinking that I had lost my brother forever. When he mindlessly walked back into the house, I felt a sense of relief that I can’t really put into words. Cheesy, but it’s my favorite.
The only time I feel my best is when I’m not being disgusted by people in general, which doesn’t happen very often. I think I’m quite solitary, and would rather be by myself then with someone I can’t talk to.
The other mode of escape would be driving around aimlessly, going through roads I’ve never gone through before. There's no better feeling than a full tank of gas and no destination in mind. This can lead you to drive through a shooting range after having a long conversation with a friend, or skidding on black ice and ending up on a ditch, nearly 5 minutes after you dropped of your friend. But really, I love venturing into the unknown. Not too far, but far enough to liven things up and not force myself into an even bigger routine.
Favorite color is orange. (BEARS!) It makes me smile for some strange reason. It’s aesthetically pleasing, and is neither too dark nor too light. I guess it pleases my fascination with happy mediums.
Best part of the day? Anytime after Calculus is over. Self-explanatory.
Giving a good look at its reflection, I read the numbers on my watch, “1:32 am”, with a sigh. While sitting in a Philadelphia International Airport terminal chair, my legs remain tucked close to my chest, exposing the unintentional ripped holes of my jeans. The sounds of suitcases rolling upon plastic flooring are heard over to my left, with the occasional sounds of a multilingual voice above my head. Although tired, I continue to look out the window watching the outlining lights of planes park in their designated spots. Besides that, the picture which lies before me is darkness and stillness. There is nothing to be afraid of, nothing that must be given undivided attention, and nothing that must be processed within a mind that rarely rests. The warmth of my hoodie envelops my skin as I wrap my arms around my stomach. Every now and then, a fellow traveler walks down one of those flat escalators to their newest destination. I may have never seen them before, but I’m one of them; traveling to a new place, finding a new adventure, and exploring a new culture.
This scene before me is the place I try to mentally escape to in order to get away from the pressures of life. To speak in all honesty, I have never actually found this terminal chair nor have I sat in it. Yet, the picture of it is perfectly clear in my mind. The particular smell of the air conditioning, the feeling of that hypothetical hoodie, and the image of airplane lights in mid-darkness are all right there before me in the face of pressure. I consider it my home, my sanctuary because airports are the one place, the only place, in this world where I feel comfortable. In airports, you are given the opportunity to travel anywhere and broaden your perspective of the world. It’s also a quiet atmosphere, where you can chose to either formulate questions about life, or think about nothing. Airports are organized and secure, but open in a way that makes me feel relieved and calm.
My best childhood memory is when I was in the Poconos with my parents, grandparents, aunt and uncle, cousins, and siblings. I am not sure how long we stayed there, but I do recall staying in these very tiny individual houses that were considered “hotel rooms”. There were many activities there for children, making every day seem careless and carefree. Yet, there was one particular day when we all went out to dinner, all twelve of us, and there was a karaoke contest being held that night. The stage was inside the restaurant, like that of an old-fashioned bar. Eventually, the announcers began trying to encourage kids to get up on stage and sing and dance to their favorite song. So, automatically my sister stood up and told my cousin and I that we should sing to a Brittany Spears song. I am not exactly sure what song it was, but the next thing I know was that my sister was requesting the song and waving us over to the stage. Not having a care in the world, I got up from my seat without hesitation and walked on stage with my cousin. One of the announcers gave the microphone to my sister, leaving my cousin and me as backup dancers. The song began and there I was; singing and dancing to a Brittany Spears song on stage in front of an audience. As a child, I never took into consideration such things as regret, embarrassment, or failure. There was a time in my life when I merely took action, and never looked back. To give you another example, when I was younger, I was involved with the Dance and Fitness Factory in Egg Harbor Township for the play “Beauty and the Beast” when I was six years old. I played about four different parts in that performance as a wolf, a spoon, a snow fairy, and a townsperson. I don’t know where that person is anymore, and I am deathly afraid that I have lost her. I swear that that was me up on stage singing, dancing, and acting, and there are pictures to prove it. Perhaps someday my feet will touch the stage once again, and my fear will be left in the audience.
As to where I feel my absolute best, I would have to say airports because even during the day, the thrill of being in the position of a traveler is like nothing else. I love the fast-paced walking down the plastic floors with ripped jeans, sneakers, a T-shirt, and backpack, passing by frequent travelers who I hope to someday become. I feel my absolute best, therefore, when I travel. Although I usually find myself suffering from jet-lag and a sickening stomachache, I love seeing new places and being on edges of the planet I thought I’d never find myself. It always fascinates me to see where my footprints might be found in the future.
The most soothing sound I can imagine is the sound of the Caribbean Sea’s varying shades of blue wash up upon the shores of Jamaican sand. Unlike the waves of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New Jersey, it is not violent or abrupt, spitting off in different directions. The waves are soft, warm, and welcoming. As you look up and find the leaves of palm trees above your head, it makes it all the more worthwhile. Then, to sit on the beach at night, is an even better experience. Occasionally, you might even find a cruise ship drifting upon the undefined horizon of darkness.
Additionally, the color that affects my mood the most negatively is the color of Sharpie red. It’s the color you find on your test papers making “x”s upon any of your mistakes. This color never allows for mistakes, and promotes perfection at all times. Pink is the color that brings out the creative, organized side of me because it makes me feel like a wedding planner. Lastly, navy blue is what brings out the traveler in me. In the future I even hope to own a navy blue Volkswagen car to engage in all my adventures.
During the day, the time I feel most at ease is at midnight when the night first begins to take on its silence. On nights when I find myself able to stay awake at this time, one can find me in my room watching NBC, doing homework on top of my bed. Night is typically the time when I am able to concentrate the most. In college, I cannot wait to begin scheduling classes at 9:30 or so at night. I am most alert at this time, but also the most at ease because there never seems to be any sort of rush during this time. The world moves more slowly, the clouds hover less closely, and the wind passes by more softly. The fact that you are not traveling at that very moment, or the fact that you have become more self-conscious, or the fact that you are not listening to the waves of the Caribbean sea are forgotten, and for once, life can be appreciated for standing still.
In response to Billy Cheaty:
The moment you mentioned “porches” in your blog had me thinking about those summer days when I sit out on my porch and read books for school, while occasionally looking up to see crazy jet skiers or huge yachts come down the river. Porches can definitely be good stress-relaxers. I also found it interesting that you are not afraid to walk outside at night. Personally, it tends to scare me a little, unless I am with one of my siblings. Once, I remember lying on my dock with one of my friends at night until about 9:30 looking up at the stars, then I began to get scared and we went inside. I am also curious about what this “Batsto” looks like; I’ve never heard of it. As for your childhood memory, I can recall the days when my brother would play games like that with his friends. It was always funny to see how much the rules would change by the end of the game. Then, when you mentioned that you love playing football, even when you’re not performing to the best of your ability, I thought it really showed just how passionate you feel about it. Overall, a very interesting blog.
When I find that the pressure has become too much for me to handle, I like to get away. I like to get away from the normal surroundings of school, my house and just escape. Now of course I would need a car and a license in order to do so. And I have neither. So that’s where my lovely boyfriend comes in to take me any place I’d like to go. :) Normally, we end up going back to his house. It’s a completely different world for me there. My mother’s not constantly badgering me to clean my room or to do my homework. There’s no stress about the test I have that Wednesday, or the assignment I have due tomorrow. It’s all so peaceful to be in such a different environment other than your own for a while. I can let my mind drift off. I can forget about all my worries for the time being and just cuddle up against him. Yeah, I know it’s a bit corny, but you all can deal!
Frankly, I can’t choose just one childhood memory as my favorite. I can hardly even clearly remember most of them, anyway. My memory recalls the times at summer camp, to soccer practices with the Fireballs, to vacations to Jamaica, to the pool parties at my friend’s houses, to the peaceful bike rides with all my friends, and much more. I had a great childhood, so it’s hard to pick just one. I loved how there was never anything to worry about. Scrapping my knees was the only concern in my mind. I just miss the memory of always being happy and always having something to smile about, and everyone around me getting along.
The summertime is no doubt when I feel my absolute best. I get to wake up around noon, slip on my bathing suit, and head toward the pool. I love laying out, soaking up the sun’s warm rays, and occasionally going for a dip. There’s no test or assignment that I need to fret about. The only thing I need to worry about is what my plans for the rest of the day are. This makes me want summer so much!
The most soothing sound I can imagine would be the ocean. Just lying on the beach, listening to the waves crash on the sand, makes me feel like I’m in another world that no one can bother me in. I can fall asleep so easily on the beach. The waves just put me to sleep. I love staying at the beach house. I can take a walk with my dog along the edge of the water and just relax.
The colors that relax me are light colors. Preferably, light green or light blue. Light green is the color of my bedroom, and being in my room helps me unwind, especially since I gaze at those walls before I fall asleep every night. Light blue is the same color as the sky on a warm, summer afternoon. The beautiful weather just makes me happy. Otherwise, I don’t really think many colors have the ability to affect my mood.
I feel the most at ease right when I’m about to fall asleep. I can forget about all the stress I’ve been feeling and just bask in the serenity of my dreams. There’s no longer anything I need to worry about, even if it’s only for just a few hours. But still, I just love to sleep. Even as a baby, I was the most cooperative because all I did was sleep! I just like to have that ability to relax. I generally don’t get to in the day time anymore…
"...so I’m naturally in a good mood, while I know I got a good nights rest because I slept until 12. (:) hehe) I will probably go to the beach, lay by my friends’ pool or go play soccer (which is basically what I do everyday in the summer). I absolutely love it."
Sleeping to 12 is my favorite part about Saturday. :) And one of my favorite things about the summer soon to come! I have a feeling I'll be waking up a lot in the morning with you already laying out by my pool.
To find my happy place, I simply have to step outside. The sun is beaming, though not too harshly, and the chatter I would expect normally is nonexistent. Perhaps I simply take a walk around my neighborhood, or I head to my backyard, perhaps sitting on one of the three stumps there, or planting seeds, inevitably due to die as I forget about them before they become no more than cheap firewood. The spring and early summer, this is what I’m talking about. For any other time of the year, my happy place is in front of a screen playing videogames, or reading a book. These two are true escapes from reality.
My best childhood memory? Not sure. My life has actually slowly improved as I aged, anyways. Well, I guess it was when I got a Super Nintendo, my first videogame related thing ever. Frankly, I don’t remember it that well, and I was only 4 years old. I was excited, but probably not to that great of a degree. Well, I got my first taste of gaming, and at least at the present, I view it to be quite a good memory.
The sunny days are all I need. For some reason, the sun fills me with energy. Even today, I woke up refreshed, only to grow tired when rain began falling to earth. My wacky circadian rhythm, I guess. I’d spend it outside, of course, till I have an urge to play videogames, though a Nintendo DS solves any and all problems relating to that.
The sound of flowing water in general is soothing. This sound even makes rainy days bearable for me, though those just plain cloudy days don’t have this as the solution. I always open the window so slightly on rainy nights just to hear it as I sleep. Beautiful, it is.
Red, of course, as it calms me down, knowing I’ve killed all of my enemies…wait…no. Red, blue, and dull orange are the colors that I love. Red is one filled with energy. It is warm, endowing me energy. Blue, on the other hand, is a cool color, allowing me to calm down. They’re quite the opposite of one another, but that’s what makes it cool…err…lukewarm. The orange, I’m unsure about. I just like it for some reason or other.
When I’m in bed, right before my consciousness fades, and when I wake up without that annoying alarm clock blaring in my right ear, I’m completely at ease. I can actually think. Why? Because I’m about to fall asleep, where my thoughts don’t matter, which ironically makes me think more. So many ideas come from this time.
I'm just continuing from where I left off.
I mentioned that I escape my troubles by putting myself in a certain mindset by listening to music, locking myself in my room and thinking, being with my dogs, or laying outside at night. My best childhood memory of the World Series softball tournament just reminded me of how I also like to escape my problems. I'm a competitor, athletically at least, and so I'm always in the mood for a competition. Softball and other sports give me exactly what I need. When I get angry or frustrated, I need to let my anger out. Letting me hold it in is like having a ticking bomb inside of me. So whether it I'm relaxing by going for a run, or taking my aggression out in a one-on-one game of basketball with my sister, or challenging myself to be better in softball than my opponent, the competition itself soothes me mentally.
These forms of stress-releasers all relate to where I feel my absolute best. Put me on a softball field, lock me in my room, or put a pair of running shoes on me, and I feel amazing. But aside from them, waking up at 2 in the afternoon, getting a full 12 hours of sleep, feels absolutely amazing. After that much rest, I can do anything. Also, I hate taking showers because I think they're a waste of time. But once I'm able to drag myself into it, though, I don't want to get out. It's so refreshing and relaxing. I seriously spend at LEAST a half hour in the shower (my dad gets PISSED because I use up all the hot water =D). My muscles relax and all the tension in my body is gone. My mind feels best when I'm in the bathroom. I don't necessarily have to be GOING to the bathroom, but I can just sit on the toilet for a freaking hour and do homework. My brain can do anything when I'm in there. I swear, if I could take my SAT's or AP exams on the toilet, I'd pass with flying colors.
As for sounds, I want to say music in general is most soothing. But a particular sound aside from that cliché answer would have to be snow. Yes, I can hear snow. It's got that light, breezy sound to it. I love sitting in the middle of the street in the dead of winter when no one's around while it's snowing and freezing outside. It honestly sounds like a mixture of whistles and glitter (yes, glitter has a sound, I made it up) and jingling noises. It's the most relaxing sound imaginable. Also, when I go snowboarding, I love the slushing sound my board makes against the snow. I really love it. =D
The color white is really the only one that affects my mood, mostly because it reminds me of snow. It's such a bright, yet neutral color. It seems so natural. It also brings out the best of other colors. I don't like many bright things, they hurt my eyes, but white isn't too much.
Oh boy, the time of day. Well, during a school week, around 8 PM is my favorite time of day. It's pretty much that time that tells me, "Okay, another day down, you're that much closer to the weekend." I hate hate hate the mornings. If it were up to me, the world would never wake up until 2 in the afternoon. The night is so much more peaceful and relaxing, anyway. On the weekends, I feel most at ease in the dead of night. I'm not worried about anything at night. I never want to sleep until my body falls asleep, because my mind will never rest. But when it's dark out and completely silent, that's when I feel completely at ease. I think it's because it's not light outside, I'm usually alone, and I can think about anything. During the day I feel so tired and worn down, but at night it's the complete opposite. Once I go through that stage of relaxation, I get a sudden burst of energy, and want to do everything. It sucks that I'm afraid of the dark, or I would definitely go on more walks at night. But since my mind wanders so much, I always think there are rapists lurking in the woods waiting for me to pass by. So I tend to limit my night adventures to my back yard where I'll sit on the back porch with my doggie. It's so relaxing and you can never get the same affect from the day time. The light ruins the peacefulness of it all.
More and more often I have been having to retreat to a place of pure happiness, where the burden of school work can be lifted and the stress caused by friends, family, and life in general can disappear. This sanctuary is my bed. I never used to retreat to my room as a young child and only recently I have started spending a majority of my time up there, whether by myself or with someone else it is ultimately the most relaxing place in the world. For those of you who have never been in my room, it is like a cave due to the fact I have one window that is covered by draping sheer silk curtains and beads, it used to have light seep through but ever since Matt broke my shades there is really no light that is able to penetrate into it. I like it better that way. It is more peaceful. My walls are painted a deep pink raspberry color, and my bed is covered with soft Egyptian cotton sheets and a down comforter that I like to just crawl under and sleep for endless hours. I have had the same bed since I was a much younger child. It makes the same comforting creak every time I go to lay in it, as well as the perfect softness that lull me into a deep sleep within minutes. I know that it is somewhere I can always go to be alone, and it is where I think my most deep thoughts without the interruption of my parents yelling or people talking. I am surrounded by all my familiar things and I just feel at home in my bed; chaotic turmoil could be going on around me but when I am in there I feel very safe and content.
Honestly I have to skip my best childhood memory for now and come back to it. I still need time to ponder that. I feel my absolute best around my boyfriend. It doesn’t matter the time of day as long as I am with him I feel amazingly happy. My boyfriend makes me feel like I am the most special person on the planet. He is ridiculously sweet to me and I never feel down around him nor is there ever a dull moment. He makes me smile 24/7 and there is just something about him that I can’t help but fall for. Whether I am in sweatpants and a StuCo hoody or if I am dressed up for a special occasion, he will not judge me and like me for who I am. He tells me I look beautiful in anything and I can't help but feel my best around him.
To me the most soothing sound is the ocean. I feel at ease when I hear the breeze blowing, the seagulls cawing, and the waves splashing. I love just laying on the beach listening to all of the sounds and breathing in the salty air.
My favorite color in the world is pink. Pink brightens my mood any day as well as the colors yellow and orange. They scream spring or summer and portray emotions of happiness. I feel if I wear them it will make my mood more vibrant and happy as well.
My favorite time of day is at night. That is when I feel the most relaxed and at ease. Sometimes I wish I could just sleep through the day and be able to go out at night. The weather is always so much cooler outside and the starry sky is so romantic and beautiful. I like being able to go out after the sunsets, because things just seem to be so much more eventful and exciting at night. I feel like I should be exercising or something when the sun is out and shining, not that I don’t like beautiful days like that. I just like how at night you aren’t judged if you decide to stay home and watch movies or go out and experience the nightlife.
Lastly this brings me to my favorite childhood memory. I would have to say that that memory would be summers up on Long Beach Island. My cousin, sister, and I would all stay at my aunt’s house for about four days in a row. No parents, just my crazy cool aunt. Rules were not abundant and her house was right on the beach. The three of us would go down to the beach during the day collecting sea shells and playing tag, as well as running into the water and see who could go the farthest. We would play mini golf and swim in the pool. My great grandmother who lived with my aunt was one of the funniest people I have ever known. She would slip us candies or money if we would get her alcoholic drinks for the fridge. We would fight over who got to get them for her, just for that one butterscotch candy even though we knew she would give us each one. We would sit out on the screened in porch as the sun began to set and wait to hear the familiar tune of the ice cream man. We would each pick anxiously what kind we wanted and then eat it slowly to make it last as long as we could. That is probably where I get my love for the ocean and the smell of the saltwater from because I miss those days, but it is good knowing that I will be able to have those memories forever.
Hilary, darling-
"The most soothing sound is the sound of rain. I love it when it rains because the constant rhythm slows my breathing and helps me to focus. "
I love love love the sound of rain, especially thunder storms. They are my favorite on a summer night<3! I understand completely what you mean and totally agree with you. There is nothing like the sound of rain and that comforting feeling it brings. Oh and I have to agree with you that Mullican best friend memories were some of my favorite childhood memories as well and I miss them with my whole entire heart.
Well, let me start off by saying I'm not very imaginative, at least not of the same caliber as when I was a little kid. I don't have a "world" away from this one where I can escape to when I really need a break from something. I need something corporeal to simulate or stimulate such a world for me. From those two needs, come my world into which I escape. The former being video games and the latter being music. With video games, I guess playing through the life of a character separate from my own, with his own story and problems..just...helps me relax. Whether it is just the feeling of success at least somewhere or the inexplicable amount of violence with which I achieve these, calms me down after I've spent a couple hours mashing buttons on controller/keyboard. On the other side of things is music. My music fights fire with fire. Angry thoughts with angry lyrics. Usually listening to my rock and metal music, my mind slowly becomes at ease and I am able to get back to my life.
I believe my best childhood memory is at the same time very sad. The memory is of me getting my leg caught in a moving bycycle wheel and tumbling to the ground. I'm sure I've mentioned this story numerous times and if you need a clafification you know where to find me. Anyway, when I fell, I was actually picked up by a few people who did not live too far away. They quickly bandaged up the bleeding ancle and knee. They then carried me to where I lived. I guess this is my happiest memory only because it proves that no matter what situation you are in, there is always some way to get through, and if you are lucky, there will be someone who will help you get through it.
Personally I feel my best on those few days of the year when I have no school, no work, and take the day to spend with my closest friends out at the mall, restaraunt, movies, or any other place we can find to hang out. Both of those places take up way too much time and leave me physically and mentally exhausted for the rest of the day.
Heh, weirdly enough, to me, the most soothing sound at the moment is everytime I boot up my MP3 player and choose to listen to either System of a Down, Seether, Lordi, Three Doors Down, or Sum41...idk why but somehow these bands have the effect of relaxing my nerves.
The colors I identify with the most are black and grey, mainly because they are the most bland colors I can think off. Right now, I'm really not trying to impress anyone with style or w/e, I'm just trying to blend into the gloomy background of most of Oakcrest and get through the day until summer finally comes. Senioritus hit me early and I just want to get out of this place.
During the day, I feel the most at ease on my bus. Usually, the bus is just a signal of transition from one hell to another. Like the eye of the storm, it is a peaceful time right before I have to deal with some other crap here and there. It is during this time I just chill out and rock out.
Alice:
"My bed is my sanctuary. I escape, I sleep, I daydream there. I cry when I have to. I feel loved when I feel I’m not. I am safe, safely tucked away in the corners of the world, no worries till I rise up again from the covers."
Samess. Crying in public to me is worthless because I don't think anyone really cares, which is why, I too, wait until the night when I can escape to my own room and let everything out. Something about you own bed makes everything feel more secluded and protected from the world around you.
Leonor:
I think the sound of the acoustic guitar is soothing too, I forgot about it. But yea when I'm not listening to my ridiculous pump up music, the quiteset and simplest songs are the most calming.
Linds:
"I really hate where I feel my absolute best, thus I will merely describe the feeling. I feel the best when I am 100% Lindsey, when I am without judgment and without strings. When the strings of life and pressure pull hard on me I’m not my normal self. When I am myself I am completely happy, and a totally diverse person than what everyone sees."
-How you worded that was really cute "100% Lindsey." I think it's really good that you can feel your best when you are simply being youself and don't care what others think. <3
" THE RAIN NEEDS TO GO AWAY! "
-Dev
I swear if one more game gets cancelled because of this damn rain I WILL CUT someone. lol
Hil:
haha your roof...
My place of escape has recently burned down. I don’t know if anyone even knows this, but I used to go to the Sweetwater Casino and just sit on one of the benches facing the river and look out at the water and docked boats. It’s about a five minute walk from my house, and consequently, a lot of my childhood memories occurred there. In this particular place, at a particular time in the evening, the sunset would occur above the tree line and slowly fall behind the trees across the river. It was a very beautiful scene. I would go there whenever I felt like getting some fresh air. I sometimes spent over an hour gazing out, and no one ever bothered me, surprisingly. Afterward, I could walk to the Sweetwater Gift Shop and get some ice cream or water ice. After that, I could walk back home or to my best friend’s house with a better disposition. It calmed me down and relaxed me to be outdoors and concentrate on nature. Nowadays, post-fire, I usually isolate myself in my room or out by my pool. I go by the pool and look out at the river or bring one of my cats or my iPod outside to get my mind off of things. I guess being outside makes me look at the big picture and not sweat the small stuff.
My best childhood memory is with my family in Cancun, Mexico. I was on vacation at this place called Xcaret which was just a blast overall. It was a time when my whole family could hang out and be happy together. We didn’t have a care in the world, or at least it seemed like that. The best part for me was floating down an underground river (which sounds super scary now that I think about it). I remember our laughter echoing against the cave (I guess it was a cave that was formed by a river?) walls and at joking all the way through the gently moving water in our life vests. That whole trip was full of fun new experiences. We have been on other family vacations, but this one was the best to date.
I feel my absolute best when I am at home, in a t-shirt and sweat pants, taking care of myself. When I paint my toenails or watch a movie with myself or my sister, I feel so happy and carefree. I don’t have to look a certain way or act according to standard. I feel stress-free and truly happy sitting on my couch with my feet up in a snuggly blanket (not to be confused for a Snuggie). I eat pop corn and just relax. I always feel a sense of stress hanging over me, so I’ve found that doing this helps ease and alleviate that feeling. It’s nice and very important to take time out to do things that I like to do just for me.
As I was laying in bed the other night during that one big storm, I couldn’t help but think about this blog question. I found myself thinking, “I hope the rain doesn’t stop so it can put me to sleep.” The sound of rain is the ultimate soothing sound. Minus the thunder and lightening, I find rain storms to be exciting and soothing. There is something about the sound of the constant barrage of drops on the roof and on my window as I am falling asleep. The smell of rain is also comforting to me. It’s refreshing and cleansing to step outside on my sheltered porch and inhale deep.
My room is all bright yellow. Every time I step into it, there is no way I can feel upset or unhappy. I think yellow is the brightest and cheeriest of the colors, so it has the biggest positive effect on my mood. After some time, however, it has become annoyingly bright, so I need to change it to perhaps a pale blue. This is another color that I feel is very peaceful. It reminds me of the ocean and summertime. All the colors have a different effect on my attitude.
Believe it or not, the place that I feel the most at ease is sometimes the place where I feel the most uncomfortable. The bus ride home is either a time of iPod use and refection upon my school day, or it is filled with dumb red necks throwing paper balls at each other or passing around a plastic bottle to spit their, well, spit from chewing tobacco into. Sometimes, I even have the privilege of being creeped on hard core by the infamous twins. Most of the time, it is the first scenario. I look out at the passing trees and houses and feel strangely at ease. The ride after school means that the hardest part of the day is over and that I can do things on my own time from now until tomorrow. There is nothing that I can productively do on the bus because I get terrible motion sickness, so starting homework or the like is out of the question. I am forced to just sit for a half hour and think. Even on days that I forget to bring or charge my iPod, I am amused by the things I see out the disgusting bus window everyday. There is a house with the cutest little goat, the house that I watch gradually collapse and implode into itself, and even the man that waves everyday at my bus as he sits in his truck at what I presume to be one of his grandchildren’s bus stops. All of these things I can expect to see along with other sights that keep my mind off of my stresses.
"So that’s where my lovely boyfriend comes in to take me any place I’d like to go. :) ...Yeah, I know it’s a bit corny, but you all can deal!"
First off, your boyfriend and I do not get along. Anyone that messes up my hair is no friend of mine :]. But I agree with what you said. Going somewhere different for a while with someone you care about is deffinitely a good way to get rid of your troubles. I would never spend more than five minutes alone with Kyle, but hey, to each her own. :P
Happiness is a goal that I strive towards everyday. From the moment I hit my alarm in the morning, I hope that that night I will lie in my bed content and happy from the endeavors of my day. Yet of course, that is not always the case. My daily life has definitely gotten more difficult and stressful than the days of my early years. Everything just seemed simpler when we were little kids running around.
My best childhood memory was a few years ago. Relay for Life was being held here at Oakcrest. It was probably one of the first times I stepped foot on Oak grounds. A few friends and I signed up to participate. We set up tents and it was the first time I’ve ever stayed up for 24 hours. During the night, it was fairly simple. Games. Walks. Talks. Food. And Fun. It was pure fun not tainted by any stress of AP classes or any high school drama. My favorite part of the night was just being able to be outside at 4 am with my friends playing Frisbee. Most people were already asleep in their tents, so there was a peaceful silence for us to enjoy. The next morning I went home and probably had the best sleep of my life.
Now with the pressures of school, friends, and family, there are very few instance of “peaceful silence.” In order to get away from the pressures of my life, it usually requires my bed and my IPod. My room is the only remaining place in which I have peace and music has always been my escape route. If I’m angry, I blast my music as loud as I can. If I’m sad, I curl up in my bed and listen to my song of choice whether it is a sappy song that I can relate to or a powerful liberating song. I like having the time to myself to relax and contemplate over my life. Time is probably the key word here too. Sometimes life seems like it’s moving so fast and so much is going on. Being in my room, life seems to move much slower and I actually have the time to catch my breath.
The most soothing sound I can imagine is that of a piano. Of course, if the melody being played is harsh and loud, it probably won’t be very soothing. However, with the right keys and notes, a piano melody can lift my spirits up instantly.
My favorite color is purple. I feel the best when I wear purples and blues. Shades of lavender and light blues usually put me at ease and calm me too. I usually don’t like wearing orange. Even though, it’s a bright color, it will probably affect my mood during the day negatively. Strange I know.
I feel my absolute best when I am around my true friends. I like being able to be myself. Even if I say something or do something ridiculous that makes them say “Wowwwww,” I know at the end of the day they are still my friends. They accept me for who I am. And being accepted for my best and worst qualities is probably the best feeling because it lets me know that I am fine the way I am, that I’m liked for being me. Plus, my friends make me laugh like nobody else can. I am simply just happy when I’m around these great people.
During the day, I feel most at ease when I go to sleep. When I say that I am most at ease when I go to sleep, I literally mean when I’m in the sleeping state. That’s because there are always moments where the troubles of my day distracts me from falling asleep and that is probably one of the most annoying feelings ever- wanting to go to sleep, but not being able to. But when everything does go fine, nothing beats the feeling of crashing into bed, curling under the blanket, and dreaming for the remaining of the night.
Hilary:
I must say I really enjoyed reading your blog; as I already mentioned, yours gave me some much-needed inspiration. I can't really pick out one part that seemed especially noteworthy or that stood out to me because everything was noteworthy. Rain, definitely a soothing sound, and one of my favorites, behind the harp and piano. Speaking of the piano, it is definitely an escape rope from stress and reality. I love it and from what I know, so do you. Music is so therapeutic.
Jon:
I completely understand the feeling of accomplishing a seemingly impossible goal, whether it be real or virtual. I was, sort of still am, a video gamer, so I can see why using a pichu in SSBM or creating the "ultimate" team of unevolved, non-legendary pokemon would be challenging and rewarding at the same time.
Jani:
"To me, music is poetry in motion. It’s the swing and soul of Mother Earth. It’s the manifestation of unity and peace, and happiness. It can be my counselor, the mentor, the friend when in need, or the backrub giver (sorry Jen). Well maybe not a backrub giver, since it doesn't really have hands.
True music is grand, awespiring, and can lift me off my feet and take me to a wonderful world. You know those cheesy (and rather one sided) “Above the Influence” commercials? Well, music would be my anti-drug. "
I completely agree. Music is an amazing enigma. Listening to the song we created today in music comp, even though only two measures long, removed all the stress of life and, for a moment, allowed me to live above reality. It is almost impossible to describe the feelings music can cause, but everyone should have the opportunity to do so.
When I think of the greatest ways to escape the pressures of my life it would be the beach. The soothing sounds of the waves crashing makes my world center. The rolling waves crashing into rocks is the most soothing sound that I can imagine. Part of the reason why I escape to the beach is because of sounds that the waves make. I can just throw my baby Duke his ball for hours and watch the sun set and that is the life for me. I peer out into the ocean and the world seems endless. The serene nature of peaceful time at the beach makes my day. However, I only escape to release from pressures very early in the morning or late at night. I prefer a sunset or a sunrise. My main factor is that I need to be alone because when I am alone I reflect on the pressures the best. One of the greatest feelings in the world to me is walking on the sand. I honestly feel as though no matter how I explain the physical aspect of where I escape it could never be portrayed in the perfect sense simply because it is far too perfect. The place that I escape to mentally at the beach is a place where I let it all out. Sometimes I spend a sunrise just crying on the beach. I really don’t cry in public and maybe I should show my emotion but I feel as though when I really have opened up to someone I can cry in front of them. My tears are never useless in my opinion and there is nothing better than crying to the ocean because I always feel relieved afterwards. The main reason why I choose the beach is because when I leave no matter how I feel when I arrive there is a sense of calm over my body.
I reminisce all of the time with my neighbor who is about 5 years older than I and is practically my sister. She was adopted at a young age and I can not imagine how much she went through as a child. We spent hours upon hours making mud pies and eating chocolate popsicles even though there was always more on my face than I ate. I must admit that I feel as though I am far too lucky to have such a great childhood. I was spoiled and one thing that I am proud to admit is that I am Daddy’s little girl, I always have been and I always will be. He has given me the world even at times when I don’t think that I deserve it.
Every year from the time that I was 6 we go camping at Rickets Glenn in Pennsylvania. I look forward to going every year and it is my home away from home. If I could, I would camp on the lake for months. It only makes sense to me to have my greatest childhood memory at the place where I learned and continue to learn the most about life. We spent endless nights on big orange canoes, by camp fires made by pyros with the largest flames possible, and beautiful peaceful summer days at the lake. My greatest childhood memory is on the lake. I was 10 years old and one of my best friends was 8. In my eyes she is one of my heroes because she fought cancer at age 6 and never showed her fear. It had been two years since she was diagnosed with cancer and her family decided to go camping with us. We were on the lake at midnight and her mom was a bit intoxicated decided to come canoeing with us. She brought a flashlight and fishing pole while staggering to the boat. She was rocking the canoe and it was shocking that she didn’t fall overboard. I have never laughed so hard in my entire life. She was trying to tell these scary stories and they turned out being hilarious. When she focused her yellow flashlight on the water you could see little fish swimming franticly. She would sporadically blurt out flashes and cast her line into the water. We ducked in order to avoid being hooked in the face. Time flew and before we knew it was time to turn back around to the campground. It felt as though we were only on the water for 5 minutes and when someone checked the time it was 2 in the morning. Time truly does fly during the best times of your life.
I feel my best and worst on the softball field. There are always mixed emotions but when I am alone on the field with no one stressing me out I am at home. It is the place in my world where no matter what emotion I am feeling it no longer matters. I would say that I feel my best on the field because I know what I am doing. I am comfortable and nothing is a surprise. When I am not alone I prefer the pressure. My favorite games are when it is in the bottom of the 7th, tied game, bases loaded, two outs, full count, and I am up to bat. The game is now in my control and I live for that pressure. It is the greatest feeling in the world to have the winning hit or play and while there is always a chance of it ending the wrong way I never see it like that. NO MATTER WHAT on that field in every second of the game we are a team and we win and lose as a team. The one thing that has become apparent to me recently is that one person does not lose a game. If you have the winning hit then you are on top of the world and even if you don’t, never have any regrets.
The color on my walls is a light blue and this color sooths me. Light blue is the color that affects my mood the most. It is what I wake up to and rest my eyes to sleep at night. Most light colors put me at ease and bright colors cheer my spirits up.
During the day I definitely do not feel at ease during the morning. It is a bit ironic because just the other day my mom and I were talking about the best time of day. She stated, “You always wake up angry.” I wake up angry because I am not a morning person and I can not stand being woken up. It can take me up to 30 min to pry myself out of bed. The time of day that I am at ease the most is before I go to sleep. I no longer worry about what stresses I may have throughout the day and I feel at peace. Tomorrow seems too far away as my eyes close and I fall slowly asleep. It is not that I love sleep but how I feel the next day. Once I work through the morning crankiness I feel rejuvenated. It is the glass of orange juice in the morning that is the perfect start to any day.
Kelly N-
“That’s because there are always moments where the troubles of my day distracts me from falling asleep and that is probably one of the most annoying feelings ever- wanting to go to sleep, but not being able to.”
While I love the moments before I go to sleep there is nothing like actually being at peace. I need at least 8 hours of sleep and I just am not myself if I don’t have enough sleep. It baffles me how some people only get 5 hours of sleep at night. Your blog was great and you had really insightful thoughts. When I read the part about life moving slower when you are in the place that you feel best it really stuck to me. That is what is so great about the place that you feel absolute best is the fact that your world slows down.
When I am stressed, there isn’t really one particular place that I escape to. But, I have my own ways to escape from the overwhelming world around me. I nap. I know right so surprising haha. When I take a nap, I slowly drift off into a distant pleasant memory and let it come to life, almost becoming real. When I have a big Calculus test, I lay down facing the wall, sometimes with music blaring in my ears, and imaging a perfect grass field. The lines meticulously painted on its sprouting fingers jutting out of the cool ground. Two goals draped in nets that could catch fish. This is my ‘go to’ place. Sometimes I am completely alone, juggling in the patchy sunlight. Other times I am in a game.
My childhood seems like a blur to me. I can make out a few big events, but other than that it was all the same. A few that stand out are the times that I spent in Disneyland, almost once every year. The feeling of joy that rises in my body is practically unexplainable, as it is one of the few places that I truly love in this world. I also remember the times that I spent in the Davies and Hess band. I loved band so much. More than anything. I would do my homework at school so I could go home and just play. I loved the sound my clarinet made when the perfect combination of tones and notes blended together creating an exhilerating story that I could make up as I pleased. But, eventually the pressures of high school caused me to quit. I loved soccer too, and had to make a choice.
I feel my absolute best when I am on long car rides with my family, and the sun is shining through the tinted windows. I can reach my arm out of the window and feel the pressure of the air and the heat on my arm. And I can just blare my ipod and zone out into another world.
The most soothing sound that comes to my mind I usually hear in the summer. I go out on my balcony, which faces the woods and trees, and sit on my hammock. On the table is one of those asian looking waterfalls. The sound of the clear water splashing off of the rocks mixed with all of the bird calls and chirps puts my completely to ease.
Well, the color of my room is bright pumpkin orange, how I got away with this color, I don’t know. In the summer, when the sun is rising the sun shines into the room lighting the inside of my room like a Jack-o-lantern on Halloween. It makes me feel so energized and pumped up. Mostly all bright neon colors pump me up and make me feel excited, especially tie dye. More relaxing and calming colors life sea foam green and light blue soothe me and calm me down when I get too riled up.
The time of the day that I feel most at ease is when I hop into bed, knowing that all my work is done, and I can finally take a breathe without having to catch it quickly because of a paper that I didn’t do, or a math test that I have to study for.
Stress is an abundant resource this time of year. Prices are low and I’ve stocked up my cupboard pretty tightly. When I need to get away from it all, I take refuge is my room and play an episode of scrubs on my computer. It doesn’t sound like much, but just being able to unwind, kickback, and get a few laughs at this time of year is a rare commodity. Clearing my head, even if for only twenty five minutes, does wonders for my mood and energy level.
My energy level is no convoluted enigma. This is how I work. If I’m well rested and eat a big meal, I’m quite possibly the happiest guy in the world. School, however, has managed to take both these things away from me. As a competitive lightweight in the wonderful world of crew I cannot weigh over 150 pounds. Personally, I really don’t care how much I weigh, its just a number. My body on the other hand, does not like being 150, and tends to shoot up to 155 when I eat a grape. So lately my meal portions have gone from king size to half a happy meal. When coupled with the lack of sleep from staying up to do homework all the time, it becomes difficult to be a happy camper.
However, there is one time during my week when I feel positively amazing. On the day of a crew race in Philly, the whole team travels up and anxiously waits for their race. Once that’s over we basically do whatever we want. So after I weigh in and finish my race I sprint back to the Oakcrest hangout and gorge myself on an array of the most delicious food on this planet. After that settles my day becomes a free ride to hang out with my friends, and its quite a bit of fun.
As for my best childhood memory, I really have no clue. I did a lot of fun stuff when I was a young’n, and it all meshed into this giant ball of childhood memories in my head. For some reason I can only think of one thing, and it probably definitely isn’t my best memory, but here it goes.
Every summer my mom would take us kids to swim in Lake Lenape at the cove. We would swim in the contaminated water and have a blast. Sometimes we would get lucky enough to be present when the ice cream man came around in his dirty truck and it blared that corny tune. I would get so excited and run up to the truck to buy a Flinstones push up pop. Times were good back then.
And since I think I hit four hundred words and still need to find an article and do some bio stuff, I’m going to rapid fire these last three questions.
A babbling brook of stuffed animals
Green makes me giddy
The millisecond before I go to sleep because I’m about to be unconscious
To escape the pressures of life and the world, I don't have a specific physical or mental location I go. I go, that much is true. But it's rarely the same place. I just go 'away.' Once I hit my breaking point in terms of how much nonsense I can take, I bolt. Either physically or mentally, but mostly the latter. It's the only way I know to cope. I don't so much move all the time, as I just retreat from the sections of my brain that think about problems. I'll go play GTA, or Pokeymans, or play around on my trumpet, and just generally get my mind off it so to speak. Physical location matters not if I can get to a mental place where I'm not obsessing. If it's people stressing me out though, I'll just be out mentally. No more talking, no more paying attention, a bit of drooling, but not much else. I'll be there, but about as responsive as I am in the middle of a riveting Calc lesson on how to find the integral of sqrt(ln(e^green)) between fedora and applesauce.
Childhood memory? It really wasn't all that memorable. I could easily say the ninety we picked up during band, winning both that competition, handing our rivals their asses, and winning a bet with T that landed us steak, but that's too recent. I could easily say 'my trip to disneyworld' or something equally idiotic, but that'd be a cop out. The only one that doesn't feel like one is the one time I managed to pick up the courage to ride my first upside down rollercoaster, an action I deemed certainly suicidal before and until that day. Exhilarating? Yes. Liberating? Yes. Proving something? Yes. Good, yes. Best, not quite, but the best I can conjure to mind that I would count as a true childhood memory.
To be honest, I feel my absolute best doing two and only two things. One! Music. When the band is happening, and every section meshes together, every piece bouncing off the rest, I start to make less and less sense describing it, so I'll abstain. Suffice to say, when everything meshes like that, it's something that carries me away. (See first paragraph) Two! Veedjo games. Specifically, when I've been playing for awhile and get into a groove. I'll stop playing for my life, and just start playing like it's an action movie. Once again, everything starts to flow perfectly, it comes together effortlessly and when all is moving along with a life of its own, sweeping me along with it, neither me nor the game really in charge, it's indescribable and incredibly nerdy.
The sound is easily the easiest question on here. Ticking. Weird, yes. But I figured it out around fifth grade. I found my G-pop's stopwatch. I hit it and held it close to my ear. Tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick. For an odd reason, ever after, clock sounds always soothed me. Except alarm clocks. Grr...
My color is... HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO PICK ONE?!?!?!? I care not for them! Colors hold no meaning! 'Blue is soothing!' 'My uncle Ben was killed by a guy in a blue sweater!' 'Yellow is happy!' 'My grandpa was run over by a yellow Camaro while on his way to the puppy orphanage!' BAGH! We care/don't care for colors because of images associated with them! Not the intrinsic value of it! /rant
If I must choose one, it would be silver/gold but trappings of wealth and style be damned. I like those for one reason and one reason only. Those are the main colors brass instruments come in. They remind me of ze music, and make me wish to play it. And brass instruments are sexy. Especially piccolo trumpets. *cleans drool off of keyboard* Moving on...
Time of day? Mid to late afternoon to twilight. Mostly because I'm a) not in school, and B) Anything can happen. I can go where and do what I please, without the fear of Coyotes. And being able to do whatever I damn well please is pretty relaxing.
Pmo (P.M.O? I expected a hyphen =) haha )
Waiting in line for Splash Mountain as "It's a small workld" plays in the background also gets me really excited. In addition, I often think a lot about school when I was younger. I loved it. My teachers, friends, classes, everything was just so enjoyable.
I LOVE Disney land and everything about it. And, going on Splash Mountain makes me reminice about how fun it was. Oh and I miss the old days. Hess. Mrs. Hudson and her pool partys. Fireballs.
Let's make a time machine and we'll go back and stay there forever.
Sergei-
"During the day, I feel the most at ease on my bus. Usually, the bus is just a signal of transition from one hell to another. Like the eye of the storm, it is a peaceful time right before I have to deal with some other crap here and there. It is during this time I just chill out and rock out."
I absolutely know how you feel. I don't go on the bus after school during softball season, but I do anytime else. As much as I dread school, I dread going home just as much. It's not necessarily that I hate where I live.. okay I do. I just know all I'll do when I get home is lock myself in my room and hope to god that no one in my house tries to talk to me. So that time between school and home on that bus is so relaxing. Sometimes I'll go on Carly's bus so I can walk home from the end of my street. I make sure to take my time so I can get myself prepared for being a complete bitch-- because that's what I turn into right when I step into my house. But on the bus, it's like my own time where I can relax. People make fun of me because I find staring out the window while listening to my ipod most helpful.
The pressures in life always tie everyone down. No one can escape them until you have walked the 8-fold path to spirituality, or done some other thing to free yourself from the world. Where do I go? Well my family goes on vacation somewhere every year. 2007 was Canada, 2008 was India, and I thinking that 2009 would have to be England. I adore traveling, it’s something that my life has been based upon. When I stressed out about something I just like to get on a plane and go to an unpredicted place. Of course I would never take off to I don’t know Jamaica without telling anyone. Travelling somehow relieves of my stress but letting me experience different cultures and attitudes around this world. The different mind-sets and locations just allow me experience life in one of the best ways possible. But a change in location always takes away from the past and lessens the pain or the stress.
I have many childhood memories but I can’t just pick one. There are so many that have made me the person I am today and I just can’t pick one over the other. It would be unfair to me. Like when I was little I went to grandma’s house. My cousins were there and we were all having fun. The open air and strong current of the river near her house just relaxed you, especially when the clod fast river sprayed you and it felt like it took away all the stress and pain in your life for one moment when you felt them on your face. My cousin is about 6-7 years older than me, not really sure on his age but at that I was young and I couldn’t ride a bike. He offered to take me for a ride. I sat in front of him and we started having fun but in midst of all that I accidently got my foot caught in the wires of the bike and it split open. He was about 12 so he freaked when he saw so much blood. He left me on the ground to go find an adult instead of taking me back home. I loved that day because I learned what not to do when you are getting a ride on a bike and how to tolerate pain. Because some people may not be able to stand to see you in pain or other may not care. I learned that I have to take care of myself in this world. Well I didn’t learn it that day because I was too busy getting x-rays and stitches but whenever I reflect back onto that memory I think that lesson.
I feel the best when I am around my friends and doing nothing but laughing. It doesn’t really matter where we are but just being around them makes me feel safe and content in this big bad world. I love to laugh even though my face or my stomach might hurt from laughing too hard. My friends know what I like and when I am really sad so they know the remedies to cure my frowns.
The most soothing sound that I can think of would have to be the sound of waves. They are just so relaxing and perfect when you are about to die on a hot summer’s day. I love the beach and the ocean even though the quiz on Facebook said that I would die drowning. The sound of waves soothes me because when the wave’s crash I feel like it has lost all power and what I get from that is that all the stress and pain crashes and doesn’t affect me anymore.
Jen P:
I agree with on picking a favorite childhood memory is almost impossible because it kinda takes away from all the others. There are a lot of memories that are great and wonderful and it sucks to just love one the most.
There is a bench in Concord, Massachusetts. There is nothing particularly special about this bench; it is the type you could expect to see in every park across America. Yet one spring day, about a year ago, one girl suddenly decided that she was very tired of walking, and wouldn’t it be nice to turn her hoodie into a pillow and lie on that bench over there for a little while, maybe just until the bus left for Walden Pond? The sun was beaming down a steady gentle warmth, which the girl welcomed after being drenched in Salem the day before. An old tree now in bloom fluttered in a soft breeze, and the heady scent of the flowers filled the air as white petals drifted softly to the ground. Everywhere was the smell and feeling of spring awakening, a mixture of grass and clover and flowers and rain-washed earth. As an added touch, at certain times the girl could just smell the aroma of cooking hot dogs, this coming from the small restaurant just a couple yards away. The gentle murmur of voices drifted down from the porch of the restaurant. Down the road a bubble machine exuded a constant stream of rainbow orbs. The girl stretched once and closed her eyes. The sun painted the insides of her eyelids a vivid red, and she finally relaxed. On an ordinary wooden bench in Concord, eight hours away from everything she knew, the girl felt finally at peace. On an ordinary wooden bench in Concord, the girl felt home.
Now, obviously, the girl is me. And clearly, I don’t drive eight hours and go lay down on a Concord bench whenever I need to unwind. Still, that doesn’t change the fact that ever since a field trip to Boston last year, this bench has become what you’d call my “happy place.” The place I go mentally to relax and Think Happy Thoughts. I was on that park bench for ten minutes at the most, but the feeling of total calm I experienced on that bench still lingers. I have only to think about it to feel the sun on my face and smell the sweet scent of young spring (with a hint of hot dog). That bench in Concord is total peace. No wonder I go there to escape pressure.
My best childhood memory is the day I found out that the baby my mom was pregnant with was a girl. A girl who was and is my little sister, Rachel (little demonic brat). See, the sex of my parents fourth child was a bone of great contention between me and my twin brother. I knew in my heart that our unborn sibling was a girl. After all, we already had two boys, my twin Ben and my little brother Matt. The new baby needed to be a girl to balance things out. Otherwise it just wouldn’t be fair. Ben felt differently. He asserted that boys clearly ran in our family, that all the Crane children would be boys, and I was just the freak-of-nature acceptance to the rule, much like Ms. Kelly’s albino snake Corny. Despite this coherent and logical argument, I held fast to my certainty that Mommy’s bun in the oven would be getting pink clothes, not blue.
Flash forward to weeks later. My brother, my dad and I sit anxiously in the living room, awaiting the return of our mother. That night had been THE doctors appointment; the one that decided whether we bought our new sibling a baseball glove or a tutu (metaphorically speaking of course; as fate would have it, Rachel, being the youngest got the baseball glove and the tutu and whatever else she wanted. She got far more use out the glove, though). Finally, we heard the turn of the key in the lock. Our six year old bodies wracked with anticipation, me and my twin leaped off the couch and hovered anxiously near the door. My mom came in, looked at our tense little faces, and said simply, “It’s a girl.” Three tiny little words, but they filled my heart with a joy and sense of victory such as I had never experienced, and have not felt since. I shrieked in pure elation, and proceeded to run around the house for a good hour or so, screaming, “I got a little sister,” over and over and over and over and over. My brother, by contrast, threw himself back down on the sofa, crossed his arms, put on his pouty face, and repeated said to no one in particular, “I’m gonna throw her in the dumpster.”
I feel my absolute best in the evening, when, after I have done my homework, I curl up on the futon in my room with my little sister and watch Charmed. Preferably, there is some form of chocolate involved as well. In fact, it’s what I plan to do after I’m done typing this. So let’s get a move on, shall we?
The most soothing sound I have ever heard is the sound of the ocean. The rush of the tide as it gets sucked out to sea, the cascading crash of the waves as the break upon the shore, all in a perfect rhythm established at the dawn of time. The most soothing sound I can imagine is this, plus the low murmur of Orlando Bloom’s voice as he lies next to me on the beach and whispers that I am the girl he’s been searching for his whole life, and he knows I’m a bit young for it, but would I please consider marrying him?
Mmm.
The color lime green effects my mood the most. It makes me so angry. I’m not talking about regular bright green, but the disgusting color of the snot of a small child. You know, the one no one wants to be around because of his constant sneezing and absolute aversion to tissues? It is such an ugly color, just looking at it turns my mood sour. Just talking about it is bringing me down. Disgusting lime snot green.
I feel most at ease at around midnight or one AM. It is at this time that the house is quiet, and I can read a book by the pink glow of my bedside lamp without disruption. All the pressure of the day is gone. All that’s left is me, a good book, soft covers, and the gentle snore of my little Frazier. It’s perfect, and relaxing, and my me time. Unfortunately, I only get it on the weekends, since if I stayed up that late every school night I would probably start spontaneously incinerating people with the sheer force of my crankiness.
There once was a man named Happy Gilmore who had a happy place, one that helped him win the Tour Championship over Shooter McGavin. If a happy place can help a failed hockey player achieve unexpected glory on grass, I bet it's a pretty useful tool to have. While that underdog story is ridiculous and completely fictional, the use of a "happy place" to help relieve stress is absolutely practical. It is very easy to get caught up in the anxiety and pressure of a tense situation. Having a happy place to transport yourself to, whether in your mind or in reality, is a great release from whatever burden is weighing you down. Thinking of a place, or a person, or an event that brightens your mood helps to put whatever you are doing into perspective, and helps you appreciate the truly important things in life.
Ironically, the place that I go to escape these pressures is a place that stresses me out more than anything else does. When I feel weighed down, when I feel like I can't do anything right and I'm just a gigantic failure, I go to the basketball court. In spring and early fall, when the weather is just right, not too hot or too cold, I go down my street, past the church, and wind up at the court next to the Port "beach" and baseball field. This court is really no different from any other, except that I see it as my court. If you've never been, Port Republic isn't exactly a happening place. I used to hate it when I was younger, because there was never much to do and it was just so boring. Now I see that general inactivity and calmness in the town as what makes it so different from other places. Port Republic is the rare town that has remained simple and peaceful. That is what makes the small town great and one of the things I love most about it. I can go down to the court everyday and just shoot for hours without any distraction, watching the sun set over the river and not caring about whether I missed or made a shot. When I head home, I leave my problems and worries on that court, one of the few places I can escape to.
When I try to think of my best childhood memory, I can't. My mind is flooded with images, sounds, smells, tastes, jumbled together in a box. Trying to pick just one is like trying to win a prize at the claw machine. You can see your favorite one, the biggest brightest one, but you can't quite wrap the handle around it. So you move on to the next one, but it slips out of your grasp at the last moment. Eventually, you settle for that pink and purple stuffed animal perched on the top of the pile. You know it's not your favorite, but you leave happy that you won something. Choosing a childhood memory is a no-loss situation. I certainly don't remember all the great times I had a child, but the ones I do remember are all fond recollections. So while this memory probably isn't my all-time favorite, it still is an important one. For as long as I can remember, my grandparents treated their children and grandchildren to an annual weekend at a glorious place called Willow Valley. Describing it would take too long, so I won't get into all that. Anyway, this was one of about 3 or 4 times a year that my entire family on my dad's side got together. Anytime with my cousins is bound to be a happy time, and Willow Valley was without a doubt the favorite place of each of us growing up. One year, I was probably ten or eleven, my uncle gave us a challenge. There was a small lake near the hotel, a peaceful place where people went to walk and feed ducks. His challenge was simple: five bucks to the first person who catches a duck with their bare hands. Immediately, the twenty of us sprinted down to that lake, and spent the better part of a Saturday morning fruitlessly chasing ducks. Finally, my cousin Luke was able to dive on top of one and hold on. He earned his money, but the fun we had was worth way more than five dollars.
I am most at ease and feel my absolute best crawling into bed after a long day of school and sports. At about ten o'clock at night, the single greatest place in the world is laying under the covers in pitch-black with the fan slowly turning and Jack Johnson lulling me to sleep in the background. I seriously have never felt more comfortable than at that moment. I feel like I could just hibernate there for a few months. It is only better with the sound of rain, which I find to be extremely peaceful. Other than rain, the sound of waves breaking on the beach is most soothing to me. As for a color, I've never really thought of or noticed how different colors affect me. I've never really been a fan of dark colors, but I really like green. If dressing in all green is going to help with my exam, then I'd better go find some new pants.
Erik-
As for a color, I've never really thought of or noticed how different colors affect me. I've never really been a fan of dark colors, but I really like green. If dressing in all green is going to help with my exam, then I'd better go find some new pants.
This statement made my day. I am sitting here read to go to bed in my pink sweatpants and then i stumbled upon your blog. I think i might have to find some pink sweatpants to wear for my test days, that is the best idea i've heard all day.
Jen P - I feel the same way you do about having to pick just one childhood memory. There are so many that all seem to get smushed together in a giant ball that is my entire childhood. I have trouble separating individual memories, because to me it is all just one gigantic memory.
Depending on the scenario there are several places I love to run away to drift away from the problems I always find myself stumbling on. Off course we all have our rooms that we childishly run away to when something goes down in our households but I have to say my room has actually become somewhat more. In spite of the many times in my past I have come running to my room to let out a good cry, my room has become a place of habit for my relaxation. After school I come to my room to lie down. Writing a blog, I come to my room to let all of the thoughts out. Going to sleep, I can usually fall asleep within minutes just laying there in my room. I’m not sure if it’s definitely relaxation spot or just the place by default, but my room definitely deserves some credit for being the place to be during my high school years!
Browsing though peoples relaxation spots, I came across Devon’s mentioning of the seasons and I freaked out because I remembered some of my summer’s most subliminal times. So, the ocean. I don’t know about you guys, but it’s kind of weird going into the ocean at the beach because there’s only so much you can do just standing obliviously alongside 50 or so strangers. As for me I always swim the furthest out that I can without being taken away by the current, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. One day my hippie friend Taylor and I swam about 75 feet out into the ocean. Getting further and further away from other people swimming became more and more freeing as we got deeper and deeper. Once we got away from the crowds of Ventnor shoebies, we just simply laid back and floated there. In the middle of the ocean under miles of sky and suspended above depths of ocean, I just floated there. It was like a balancing act. Half of my body was under the cold salty water, while the other half was nakedly exposed to the warming sun. I didn’t think about problems to solve, didn’t think about things that I wasn’t thinking about, I simply laid there thinking about the moment itself. I thought about how I’ll probably never get to have the experience many more times. I thought about the miles and miles of ocean that I was lying on. I looked towards the sky, meeting it with thoughts that it would maybe understand. Through all of this was the thoughts themselves. They were all generalities. I thought about the miles of beach. I thought about the groups of friends the next lifeguard stand away. I looked at the surfers and felt familiarity with the things that they think every day. Sun, beach, waves, movement. Surfers understood this. But, waves and their movement, that’s something else that I was so familiar with, yet so inspired by. It’s almost bizarre to just be hovering on the edge of an entire ocean. While waves shift your body reminding you that you part of this huge living world, it’s humbling to realize that were so small compared to this massive planet. Simply floating, being a part of the world while not contributing to it in any way, really made me look at how peaceful life is if you just take a step back and look at it in the bigger picture. In the grand scheme of things, our little human beings lives are shorter than we imagine, so it’s important to take in these little moments; moments where we can just ease ourselves in life.
My best childhood memory is Alyssa Little and I driving through the endless woods on our one-seater go cart. Every single day for hours, Alyssa and I would take turns switching back and forth between the driver seat, which is the same seat because we shared a 1’ by 1’ seat, choosing trails, finding hidden places, and sometimes finding treasures. There are a million stories I could tell you about us going out in the woods every day. Even if we weren’t on the go cart, we were always exploring the woods, the go cart just made this faster. Regardless, we would just wander trails for hours looking for trees to climb, untracked land, and shortcuts. One of our biggest treasures was the quarry we found in the middle of the woods, where we would often sneak out to at all time of the day. One time there was a huge plane crash in the woods next to us, and of course Alyssa and I were the first ones on the scene after the cops left. One time we even made a little place in the woods where we created hammocks out of my mom’s bed sheets and trees and called it Frostyland. Lastly, our favorite rapper was Fabulous and when we were driving the go cart we would scream out his signature hook, ‘F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S’ and just drive around like little rebels for no reason. Sorry, to go through all these very corny and random moments, but looking back they make me laugh in spite of all the changes of growing up and growing apart. As I just read that all back to myself I just got this weird look at it, from you as the reader’s perspective, of how it’s all so miniscule and unimportant. But to me, it was a lot more than just woods and a friend. It was exploring the untracked with my sidekick. We didn’t wander the woods looking for a relaxing place or try to get away from all of our troubles, but rather just embraced the only thing that was familiar to us. We loved each other’s company and loved how the woods just made us get along even better. As I can’t say many things do that for people now days, I do appreciate it happening when it did. Now days it’s as if people try to make friends or conversely stay away from people. When we find ourselves in unknown places, we either get ourselves out of there or don’t even bother to make the best of it. The woods doesn’t relax me like it did back in the day, but the combination of elements along with the tender age of being able to accept things without trying or thinking definitely gives way to its place as my childhood’s best memory.
I know this sounds weird, but I really don’t feel at my best anymore. I can’t remember the last time I was overly happy with my life or situations. Don’t get me wrong I really don’t have it bad compared to the lives of people across the country, but I just don’t have a general area that puts me over the top anymore. If anything, I would have to say that this applies to my life in all areas in exception to my past weekend. Over the weekend my parents went to a conference in NY that our church was a part of. I went up with them and over the two day conference, I felt very close to God. I was lifted of my worries, I was feeling mutually loved, and overall just felt very faithful and authentic. At the conference, they had a table set up of hundreds of little kids all across the country that needed to be sponsored. As I browsed through all of them I came across Sofa! All of the children got very dressed up in what they could; some little girls even wearing princess costumes, and tried their best to make their photo one to be picked. Looking at this exhausted and impoverished little boy I knew I had to sponsor him. From that moment on I felt overwhelmingly selfless. It’s a very spiritual feeling, and it’s one of the best feelings I’ve had in a long time, and above all it brought me close to God.
The most soothing sound for me is absolutely nothing. I sound like a crazy person, and this probably means I’m nuts, but I’d rather hear silence to random animals or acts of nature. I mean, rain and thunder are definitely the cooler sounds nature has to offer, but I can’t help but feel things 100% deeper when I can just see the things I’m looking at for what they are. I sit here trying to think of why this is, and in an explanation with no answer I will just say that I favor what I’m looking at rather than what I’m listening to.
Bright baby blue is definitely an enlightening color. For reasons unknown, its pleasures come with simplicity and good vibes. Or in better words, it’s the simplest compared to its rival colors. For instance, RED is just so alert and condemning. If you saw a flash of red you would think you were dead. Dark green is so unattractive and hence isn’t welcoming or friendly. Other colors are debatable. Yellow, purple, white, and I suppose all Easter colors bring joyful thoughts. But most of all baby blue is the typical color that is automatically calming.
Every morning when I walk to my bus stop I feel the most at ease. I feel fresh, awakened, and ready. This is completely due to the fact that I walk out towards my bus at 6 o’clock in the morning, alone, in silence, and with nature. When I see that nature isn’t even up yet, it’s a very liberating feeling knowing that it’s just you and the world. No animals, people, sounds, worries; I love that seven minute gap of time where I get to think and even pray in complete solitude.
To Erik
“Ironically, the place that I go to escape these pressures is a place that stresses me out more than anything else does”
I didn’t even think about it, but my sport is a stress reliever for me too. Though it is physically draining, its also very calming, and I do my best thinking when I’m out there on the lake. I think just physical activity in general is good for the mind, no matter what you do.
My favorite childhood memory was when I thought my brother got kidnapped, because he went on his bike to go get me some food, and he didn’t return for a good two hours.
Jani this made me laugh as I read it. At first I was wondering how in the world that would make you feel good, but then I saw the fact that you finally found your brother. That feeling is crazy! I similarly thought my family left me at home by myself one time, and freaked out until I found them. We all have that extremely horrifying, scaring moment when were younger and get lost in the mall, are left at home, or get ‘kidnapped.’ Luckily, its one of the most comforting feelings ever to actually be found.
Ms. Bunje I know this is sooo weird but I just had a dream about our class when I took my afterschool nap. We were all in your classroom just laughing about random things like usual, and you were like ‘Abby, occasional paper!’ So I was telling you I had written two and you just didn’t understand at all. Like the mere idea that I had actually written two occasional papers on time just wasn’t getting through. And I just randomly was laughing about it since it’s sadly true.
I would say that my “happy place” is on the swings. I live just a few yards away from Mullica Township Schools and when I am feeling stressed or like I have too much going on in my had I walk down there. I sit on the second to last swing (because the last is crooked and probably unsafe) where the building ends thus making the sunset clearly visible. I lose track of time when I’m out there, I just stare at the blue sky turn to pink, orange, and purple. There are no rules out there. I can actually be alone without my mother screeching “did you do your homework?” in my ear- as if she really cares anyway. I don’t have to sit in my crowed, messy, tiny room and be distracted by the clinking and clanging of the pots and pans in the kitchen next door. Secondly, I like it there because Mullica School’s Playground has sentimental value to me; it was there that I made my very first friend when I was just five years old. It was there that I grew up, I was me in my simplest form; I have no worries, after all, I was only a single digit year old kid.
My best childhood memory is from when I was in first grade. I was out on the playground with my best friend at the time, Michael Fisk. We spent the entire playground just talking and playing with these plastic horse dolls. I remember that mine was light gray with a little spot of charcoal on his hip and Michael’s was white with brown “freckles”, as we called them. We spoke and played for about an hour, but we only had playtime for 45 minutes. We were so immersed in playing with our toys that we completely zoned out of reality. I will always remember that day because it was so different from the rest of my childhood. Have you ever been so involved in what you are doing that you become impervious to the rest of the world’s chatter? I have never really felt that sort of intensity ever since that day but I long for that feeling it seems so profound to me. How a little naive six year old girl and boy could have experienced that but a perfectly educated 16 year old young lady can’t even fathom that kind of peace of mind?
The next question is fairly easy for me to say; I feel my best in Blind World. (I know the name is kind of awkward sounding but. Hey, I didn’t come up with it its universal) People are friends with everyone, and not just superficial friends, I mean really friends. You don’t get judged just because you are different or because you look odd or have a disease. I have friends with cerebral palsy, albinism, and autism. I have friends there with no other issue than their sight but that’s not really the point. You can be yourself there and no one cares. I’m comfortable there, not always so guarded.
The most soothing sound that I can imagine is the rain hitting the ground. I really am not sure why but it’s so comforting to me and nothing puts me to bed faster.
As for colors, the color yellow definitely affects my mood the most of any. It is so bright and vibrant that I can’t really help but be in a better mood when I look at it. It can’t be like pastel or anything though; it has to be like lemon zest yellow.
The time of day that provides me with the most ease is 5 o’clock each morning when I get up for school. There’s no pressure do get an assignment done because I finished it all the night before and I’m completely alone. My mind is still in wake up mode during this hour that I have to myself and so it just goes crazy and my deepest, most intimate thoughts that I could never consciously figure out are revealed.
Hayley A
I have so much in common with your response. First, I think getting away from the stress of parents and everything is exactly what people need to do to relax. I love going to a friend’s house or hanging out it just brings my spirits up. Second, I absolutely think that I feel my best in the summer time, that’s when I am predominantly in blind world. Last, I was debating whether or not to say early morning or late night for when I feel most at ease.
Ivan: you're not the only one who is ruled by the sun. I think it's some instinct from a time when we were still hunters. From a time when we were dependent on the movements of animals... When rain meant there was no trail to follow, no way to see through the crystal curtains falling from the sky, no way to smell over the wet earth, no way to hear over the roar of the water, nothing to do but sit back and sleep.
I'm not particularly sure that I have a happy place, because no matter where I "escape" to, my mind is always contemplating the pressures or stress that I'm running from. I think and I think and I think, and no matter where I go or what I do, there really is no escape for me. That being said, I do tend to spend a lot of time in my room. This is probably because a) I like being alone, b) I don't have to deal with my father harping in my ear and c) I can think, write, sing, and do my homework in a generally uninterrupted fashion. I guess this would probably be the closest thing I have to a happy place.
You know, I don't really have a favorite childhood memory. I know it sounds cliche and depressed, but I can't really think of anything memorable about anything that happened when I was a kid. I guess the best memory (or memories, rather) that I have can probably explain my extreme love for hotel rooms. When I was younger, my father worked in Puerto Rico during the week. He would come home during the weekends to visit, but sometimes my mom and I would go down there to visit him. I used to love traveling to Puerto Rico for one reason and one reason alone: hotel rooms. I was officially obsessed with hotel rooms. I loved everything about them, from the crisp white sheets on the beds to the fluffy hotel pillows to the tiny plastic tubes filled with sample shampoo, conditioner, and lotion. I loved the sterile atmosphere, I loved the people I see up and down the hallways, and I loved knowing that I was somewhere completely new and unfamiliar. I still feel the same way about hotels, hotel rooms, and travelling in general as I did when I was a kid, and I can definitely trace this back to those days.
Where and when do I feel my absolute best? I honestly have NO clue. As for the the most soothing noise, however, I'd have to go with the sound of thunder. I absolutely LOVE thunderstorms, and the past couple of nights have been totally awesome for me. I love hearing the rain, smelling the fresh air, and watching lightning paint the sky with it's rich purples and bright whites. It's a magical experience for me, and I think that the thunderstorm is the most amazing of all the natural phenomenons, and the sound of thunder cracking overtop of me is one of my favorite sounds.
My favorite color, green, is coincidentally supposed to be the most soothing color to the eyes. I'm not entirely sure how scientifically accurate this is, but I heard it on the radio recently and thought that it was an interesting tidbit of information. As much as I love green, however, it really has no effect on my mood. Darker colors, such as chocolate brown, charcoal, and black, however, have a severe impact on my mental state. I normally tend to gravitate towards the cooler colors on the spectrum, probably because I don't like bright things (like sunshine and flowers), but some of my favorite colors are the ones previously mentioned. Now, I wouldn't paint my walls black, and I don't think that I'll be busting out the black nail polish anytime soon, but I really like the dark. It makes me feel comforted and safe. I feel like I can hide in the dark. No one has to see me, and I don't have to see them, whereas with brighter colors and things, I feel anxious and exposed, not to mention the splitting headache I recieve if I look at anything too colorful.
I think the best part of my day is when I first lay down to go to sleep. Although I am like an old grandma and I do need a substantial amount of sleep to function, lately I've been staying up rather late. I don't think I've gone to bed before 12 once in the past 2 weeks, which seems ridiculous considering the face that I'm dying of mono. I just have too many things that I need to do, and even if I work all day, I've unfortunately become a very slow, unfocused worker, and even the simplest things take me hours upon hours. I've been doing the bio plants assignment (for my fellow biology nerds) nonstop for the past two days, and I'm still not done. It's been taking me a ridiculously long to do everything, but that's besides the point. Anways, whether I'm falling asleep at 9 o'clock or 2 o'clock, the first few seconds of laying my head on the pillow and closing my eyes are possibly the most blissful ones of my day. In those few moments, as mundane as they seem, it feels as if the stress from the entire day melts off my shoulders, and I am truly able to relax. Unfortunately, this feeling never lasts long, because I'm always subjected to an uncomfortable hour before I actually fall asleep, in which I toss and turn, obsessing and contemplating the same worries that were lifted off my shoulders for a few short moments before.
Matt W: That bit you wrote about the piano made me extremely jealous for two reasons. One: I think it was amazingly written and it made me feel bad about myself because I could never write that well. So, kudos to you! Second: I wish I could play the piano.. It's kind of like a life dream that I have. You'll have to teach me one day.
Where do you like to go to escape from the pressures of your life? (It doesn't have to be a real place). Why THAT place?
I have different places for different pressures. I do not often succumb to school pressures, only about once a year in late April as I realize how much more work I need to do to prepare for my AP tests, but when I do succumb to their evil I-will-ruin-your-life powers I usually retreat to my bed and sleep. The sanctuary of my bed is a special one, because I have the best bed in my entire house. It is a large bed that has a multitude of pillows, blankets, and a small person sized toy lion named Leo. These things all are necessary for me to have a satisfying depressurization and to mentally prepare for any arduous task to come. When life just seems to be too much in general, I often find myself in or around the water. Growing up in South Jersey, I have had the luck to have started swimming at six months. This choice by my parents has greatly guided my love of water. The sound of the ocean is one that soothes me like no other and simply swimming laps clears my head in a few hundred meters. Water is (usually) warm and this warmth is part of its key role in my life. I am a person who suffers from cold hands and feet constantly, so a lying out on the beach napping while listening to the water, or gliding through an easy 200 in the Hess pool are great because the sun warms me at the beach and the circulation benefits of swimming combined with the warm temperature of the pool are therapeutic.
What is your best childhood memory? Describe it in detail.
My best childhood memory is one that takes place on a boat. The sun is just beginning to set over the banks of the Mullica River and we are heading away from the boat ramp. My dad lets me drive the boat and I move to stand behind the wheel of the speeding vessel. I’m wearing a swimsuit under my sweatshirt and at that moment I am happier than I can ever remember being. The exact time in my life, the exact time of year and who else experienced this with me has escaped into the holes of my young memory. Still this moment comes to mind whenever questions of faith or joy come across my mind for the sense of complete peace that I experienced that day has yet to return to me.
Where and when do you feel your absolute best? Why?
Well I’m not quite sure if you are talking mentally, emotionally, or physically here so I’ll take a stab at all three. Mentally I feel at my best during discussions where I can contribute to the conversation and receive some sort of immediate feedback from the other people involved in the discussion. This may be a Chemistry lab where we are forming some sort of hypothesis (rare) or even just a ‘Love Symposium’ in English class. The give and take of theories and ideas is a mental joy of mine. Emotionally I feel the most fulfilled when I am simply relaxing in the band room on any given fall Saturday waiting for the buses to arrive so we can ship out to our competition. This relaxed atmosphere of camaraderie and family makes my emotions tingly and happy (unless there is drama, which there always is). Even during periods of high drama I find myself enwrapped in a little emotional bubble of happiness that is generated by the presence of people who lean on each other for almost everything and get the same in return. Physically I feel my best right after swim season has ended, as I no longer have to attend grueling practices but can still enjoy the benefits of daily exercise (for a week or so). This is most likely because I have little to no athletic motivation so until I become involved in an organized team activity, I do not tend to raise my heart rate at all.
What is the most soothing sound you can imagine?
The most soothing sound I can imagine is the sound of waves on sand. The way they collide be it the gentle lapping of a docile sea or the violent pounding of a enraged Poseidon the rhythmic repetition that comes with the ebb and flow of water has held a magical power over my emotions. When held under the spell of the oceans voice I become calmer and happier in a sense. Things do not disappear but the worlds problems seem to drift away to be worried about later.
Which colors affect your mood the most? How do those colors affect it?
Soothing natural colors affect my mood the most. These colors are in the neutral and cool families of color, ranging from lavender to chocolate brown. None of these colors are ‘strong’ or bold but more muted and subtle. They speak of spring to me and help me to see the simple joys and pleasures of life. Blues are calming and sooth my frayed nerves, while greens seem to boost my motivation to work (why don’t I have more green in my house?), browns conjure images of libraries with fires and hot coco. The common element that this rainbow of color shares is that they all have a calming, slowing affect on me, even the green with its motivational powers still seems to sooth a flustered soul.
When during the day do you feel the most at ease? Why? What is it about that time of day that provides comfort?
The time during and after eleventh period are the most soothing and calming parts of my day. This is because I have phys ed. eleventh period and all of my stressful classes have now finished. Also the pressures of tomorrow have not yet arrived to bear on my conscious. This period of calm lasts a varying length of time depending on my schedule and workload on any particular day. This grace period of peace may last simply until one fifty when I enter Italian or it may last until six o’clock when my parents and brother arrive home to interrupt my peace. The comfort comes from a sudden release of pressure and the lack of expectations in phys ed. It doesn’t really matter what I do as long as I change every day, I’m good for an A.
I just realized this is probably the longest blog response I have ever written almost 1,200 words!
Ali B
@Ivan: The sun? Aren't all gamers nocturnal? And also Vampires?
I get what you mean though. Bike + DS + Free time = Good time.
Every day after conquering a grueling sports practice, devouring mountains of text and finding the derivative of infinity plus pi for Mrs. Baird I go home and save the world…the world of warcraft. In this world I can be more than a disillusioned teenager going through the motions o daily life. But in WoW I am Mattyboo, champion of the Alliance, bane of the Horde and defender of the Frozen Wastes. Sound appealing, right? As august as this game may sound it is not all that the peanut gallery claims it to be. Actually when I think about the game my first thoughts of I are, repetitive, lackluster, aggravating and time consuming, traits that don’t typically define a “place of escape”. However my attraction to this game is not embedded in its cheesy storyline, fairy tale characters or 12 hour long boss fights. Oh no, I am in it for the player versus player content. You see, WoW offers a very popular activity called the battleground. This is a place where the brave and skilled can test their mettle against the vile members of your opposing faction, at least that’s what the game designers say. It is actually a place where you go to settle grudges and embarrass other kids who are playing the game somewhere else in the world. My hope is that by repetitively killing the same player over and over again I can have him literally screaming at the computer. It really makes my day. So I guess the ultimate attraction is a place where I can go to dish out the same stress that I receive on a daily basis.
It’s funny how much harder it is to recall positive memories then the bad ones. The memories we despise and abhor seems to pour torrentially into our minds when recalling the past, yet only certain images can trigger a positive memory. Unfortunately for me I seem to have long term memory loss as the oldest memories I have are of the 1st grade. And even among those memories I wouldn’t describe any particular one as “fond”. Although in a strange way my fondest memory is one I do despise. It is the memory of a nightmare that I used to have when I was young. It’s simple and nonsensical but still scares me to the core. There is a white expanse spreading out for miles. An area so large that is engulfs sound in a deafening silence. The miles of landscape seem to swallow all sound unless you are inches from its source. Amidst this expanse is one structure, an intricate building of some sort of whose purpose I was never able to ascertain. The structure is being expanded upon and built by a group of mangy looking and salted men who I suppose are pirates by their dress. They seem to e slaving away under the direction of their captain who is perched atop this black mass of iron and pitch. I do not recognize the captain’s face but I know that he is my dad. Then a soft light appears from the corner of the dream and a small boy seems to materialize into the expanse. He is young, small and tired as he rubs the sleep from his eyes. This is the first time the silence is broken, broken with the magnitude of a thousand claps of thunder as the boy says, “Why are you doing this”. The captain seemingly shocked by the boy’s presence gives up his work and descends from his pinnacle to offer the boy a glass of water. Then I wake up drenched in sweat…. This dream makes me a nervous wreck when I have it but somehow reflecting on it I feel at ease.
I feel 100% at my absolute best after I’ve won my race either in cross-country, swimming or track. The reason for this is very simple. After feeling nothing but pain, exhaustion and self doubt for 10 or 15 minutes those first five seconds of accomplishment and relief after winning a race are equivalent to a cool glass of water after nearly collapsing from heat exhaustion in the Sahara. It’s purely a feeling of jubilation and excitement. Jubilation that you won, excitement that you are done. I’ve never had a feeling that could compare to this.
I’ve never really been one for “sounds.” More than anything I appreciate a little bit of quiet and undisturbed solitude. This is especially true after being exposed to the droning lyrics of pop culture bands or whining rich girls on crappy reality shows. However there are two sounds which I could never get tired of. The first and probably most important would be the entire cast of nickelodeon’s Spectacular! Signing their closing number “something to believe in”. If there was any proof of a god it would be the angelic sound and lyrics that come from this song which could only be produced by a holy entity. My second sound that is more than tolerable is the serene and gentle whisper of the incoming tide lapping against the sharp golden grain of beach sand. To me that sound represents complete balance and calm. Therefore it is a perfect sound, one that can’t become too repetitive but subtle enough that it is always appreciated.
I can’t say I’m a huge fan of this touchy feely bologna but out of necessity and hope for a higher purpose I’ll keep the emotional train rolling. Colors are not things that I give much regard to. There are really only two colors that hold any weight in my book. Blue is of course important because it represents winning and victory. You know, blue ribbons and all that good stuff. But blue has little effect on my mood. Now red, red is a color that fires me up. If I had to pick a color that represented victory and first place it would be red. It’s like the king of all colors as the sun is the king of all planets. Ignoring the astronomical flaw with that statement, no pun intended, red is a color that gets my heart going. Not that I see red and suddenly get an adrenaline rush, but it makes me think of accomplishment and success. It’s a bold color that’s confident in itself in order to be showy. Because of his red puts me in a positive mood as I think of all the things I will achieve throughout the day.
I feel the most at ease right before sleep as I am sitting in my bed. It is a time of quiet reflection upon the day and possibly a time to look into tomorrow. The best part about this time though is that you can really look at yourself. You are vulnerable and away from all the pressures of parents, friends and school. You can be completely open with yourself and see answers to problems that you might not have been able to see during the day. At this time I make the majority of my decisions and they have yet t guide me wrong.
In response to Janiru:
Since we are basically married to each other’s blogs I feel compelled to comment on yours. Oh wait, never mind. You said you like this blog. I’ll find someone else now. …
In response to Mae:
Well we basically wrote the same blog so it’s very easy to comment on yours. The first thing I thought when reading these question was, “I don’t have a happy place, I don’t remember my childhood, and I don’t know when I feel the best.” But I did a little digging just as you did and found something that was close enough. However everyone knows that green is the mortal enemy of red. The two colors battle for a century until they finally called a truce and stopped the fighting. This day has been memorialized as Christmas where the two colors join for one day in harmony. And yes the best part of the day is laying down to go to sleep. We’re basically the same person….except I have no mono.
Sorry for the typos. Typing on a laptop is freaking ridiculous.
Eva -
I find your best childhood memory enchanting and it brought to mind my own experience with reading and childhood. My mother had (still does probably) cassette tapes of E. B. White's Charlotte's Web and The Trumpet of the Swan she would play these tapes on seemingly endless rides to and from the Vineland YMCA to swimming and back. No matter where the tape was, the car became silent and we all listened to the tale of Wilbur and Louis. Fond memories. Thanks Eva!
Ali B
When during the day do you feel the most at ease? Why? What is it about that time of day that provides comfort?Picture this. You’ve just gotten home, and it’s eleven p.m. You have not seen your bed since you left it at six, and you’ve physically depleted every motivation you ever had to move since waking. There’s a puffy quilt and fluffy pillow awaiting you now, brightly colored and attractive to your heavy eyes, just begging to welcome you to a good nights sleep. Never mind that insomnia will probably keep you up until past midnight, and that you’ll get no more than six hours of sleep before restarting your tedious and trying schedule. Never mind all the work you have yet to complete before tomorrow can come to a close. Never mind you’re aching muscles, and never mind whatever went wrong today, because all things are forgiven in a rock-like, dreamless sleep. I feel most at ease within those first few moments after slipping under my quilt. The light weight above me, the warmth around me, the promise of sleep not far ahead of me: I feel safe and content, two things I rarely feel outside of this place in my day.
Which colors affect your mood the most? How do those colors affect it?Colors affect my mood very rarely, unfortunately. I’d love to just be like “oh, pink! I feel fabulous now!” but unfortunately that doesn’t happen. In fact, I can only think of two instances where colors make much difference. The first is in the sky. If it is a grey and cloudy morning, I will probably be a kind of grey and cloudy person. The opposite is not always true- blue sky’s do not mean a happy me, but they do increase the chances. The second is in my clothing. I feel obsequious in bright colors, so I wear dark clothing most days. I feel I go more unnoticed, pass under more radar, and remain safer and more apart when I’m dressed in neutral or dark colors- blues, blacks, grays, greens, you know. It makes me more comfortable, and makes me less self conscious than I might be in brighter colors.
What is the most soothing sound you can imagine?I am a sound oriented person. Colors may not register with me, and I may not see you frown, but the sound of rain on a cars roof makes me sad and reminiscent, and I can hear when something’s bothering you. Being so emotively connected to my sense of sound, something jumped to mind immediately when I read this question. You know when it’s really windy, or when your riding your bike really fast, how the wind blows directly in your face and roars in your ears? Well, my most soothing sound is the sound you hear when you turn your head 90 degrees from that roar. Never done it? You should try. I’m not sure exactly how it works, but the wind blows right into your ears and stuffs it like cotton full of gusty loving power. It’s a very quiet, loud sound, like you’re both deaf and have super powers. It rushes through me and relaxes me completely every time I hear this very specific sound, so I think it qualifies as my most soothing sound.
Where and when do you feel your absolute best? Why?I don’t think I’ve ever felt my best. I’m so used to feeling tired or angry or upset or overwhelmed that I’m not even sure what my best even is anymore.
What is your best childhood memory? Describe it in detail.Since, as I’ve mentioned oh-so-many-times before, I don’t really recall most of my childhood, I’ll pick one from my adolescence. Oh, I’ve found it: In middle school, which feels like lightyears ago, I enrolled in a pointe class. I hated my pointe class. The pink walls of my studio, normally welcoming and motivating, became as offensive as a bright light immediately after waking up. My feet would hurt, I would fail, miserably, and everyone else in the class was both 2 years younger than me and six times better than me. That is, until Katie Hartline joined. She hadn’t done pointe in a while, so we were close to on par. We both were constantly about 5 inches away from our splits, but could do seven piques in a row without falling out of them. It was this class that motivated us to eventually do the Teen Arts Festival, a tradition I have tried to uphold- even after she moved to California. This may seem a fair odd favorite memory to most of you, and to those of you who think it’s normal are probably just passing it off as a dance memory- of course that would me my favorite- but this memory really centers more around Katie and how no matter how sucky things got, no matter how much I hated the class, she stuck through it with me. I was a better person in this memory. A happier person, who knew how to say no and had time to herself. And Katie is my reminder of all these things I used to be, as is this, my favorite “childhood” memory.
Where do you like to go to escape from the pressures of your life? (It doesn't have to be a real place). Why THAT place?I don’t have a good escape place. But I have escape techniques. Maybe I feel like writing. Maybe I want to memorize lines from Shakey- “O, Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name, or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love and I’ll no longer be a Capulet! Tis but thy name that is my enemy. Thou art thyself, though not a Montague” (done from memory just now.) In these instances, 230 would be my escape place. But perhaps I’m in the mood to dance it out. To take my frustration out on my body until I’ve got that flat split, goddamit! In these cases, the dance studio is my escape. It also depends on what I’m escaping from. My family? Well then, that’s the fence at the end of my dead end street where I like to sit and read or watch grass grow. My thoughts? Then that’s anywhere nobody cares that my music is deafeningly loud and I may or may not be in a coma. It varies widely, you see. But I’m thoroughly looking forward to learning meditation. I used to do it regularly, via a yoga teachers instruction, but since I stopped yoga I haven’t been very good about it- not that I was much good to begin with. I look forward to trying though. =]
Also, just as a general comment, why is everyone referring to AP exams as a time when your life is ruined forever and there's no stopping it and even when you get through now it will come back to haunt you and no good will ever come of it? Once a year is for birthdays and taxes.
We've already done one of the three times this 'time' will come.
We're a week and a half from the next. This stage will pass. Keep that in mind.
Mike- "So after I weigh in and finish my race I sprint back to the Oakcrest hangout and gorge myself on an array of the most delicious food on this planet. After that settles my day becomes a free ride to hang out with my friends, and its quite a bit of fun."
Ahhh, the one thing I miss about crew. The food. Sleeping in tents. Going on adventures. A milliooon hours of nothingness. <3
Unlike Happy Gilmore my “happy place” is a solid tangible place. When I’m in a slump, or even when I simply have nowhere else to go I simply retire to my room. My bedroom is my sanctuary, my lair, my batcave, and my bedroom. When I go to my room it signals a time where I can simply be myself without the pressures of my everyday life. No teachers bothering me about sleeping in class, no bratty teenagers running around yelling obscenities, and no parental units nagging me to take the trash out. Ever since my brother moved out a little over a year ago I have had the luck of having the entire upstairs of my house to myself. My parents come upstairs on an average of about four times a year. But to me my room is more than just a place where I sleep and type up my AP Lang homework. It is a place all to my own where I am free to do whatever I please. Nearly every inch of my wall is covered by something or other. The decorations on my walls are vast and range from my Government Issue Zombie Survival Poster to a Grateful Dead banner to a portrait of Francis Crick (the scientist who envisioned the double helix shape of DNA while he was trippin’ on acid). There are few places where I feel fully content and my bedroom is easily number one on this list.
As for my fondest childhood memory I the first and strongest memory that comes to mind is the first time I went to a baseball game. When I was seven I remember my father, my brother, and I went to see a Phillies game. We had seats that were all the way up in the nosebleeds, I remember it as if it were yesterday. As the usher was showing people to their seats there were two Mets fans in front of us. It was a day game but there were quite a few empty seats. He looked at their tickets and pointed all the way up to the top row. When we handed him our tickets he looked at us, dread head to toe in Phillies memorabilia and pointed us to the three seats closest to the bottom of the section. The moral of the being it pays to be a Phillies fan and sucks to be a Mets fan. And needless to say the Phillies pulled through and kicked the Mets asses.
Whenever I am in a bad mood, whenever I am feeling down, or whenever I need a pick me up there is one thing that never ceases to amaze me. If I am feeling bummed about something, anything I can turn on any Grateful Dead song and it’s as though all my problems disappear. No matter what has happened I cannot physically be upset while I’m listening to the Dead. When I hear Jerry’s soothing voice caress my ears I can’t help but crack a smile. Honest to god I’ve tried my hardest but I physically cannot be distressed as long as the Grateful Dead are playing in the background.
Along with the grateful dead being a method of calming, I also must admit I love green things. Seeing things that are green always makes me quite happy. Whether it’s a shirt of some sort of exotic plant, I love green. It’s something about the Grateful Dead and green things. Maybe they have something to do with one another, maybe not. All I know is a love green. With all of the aforementioned being said I must say that I enjoy to partake in all of these activities during the night time. Or at least after the sun has gone. When the sun is up I feel pressured, to me the sun is a symbol of work and a time to be serious. However when it is nighttime it typically means I have less responsibilities that need to be tended to and ultimately more fun to be had.
To Abby:
“After school I come to my room to lie down. Writing a blog, I come to my room to let all of the thoughts out. Going to sleep, I can usually fall asleep within minutes just laying there in my room. I’m not sure if it’s definitely relaxation spot or just the place by default, but my room definitely deserves some credit for being the place to be during my high school years!”
I completely understand your feelings about your room as a place where you can always go to. Whether we enjoy our rooms because we have nowhere else to go or because it is in fact the best place to go is simply irrelevant. The fact is that bedrooms are the perfect spot to simply relax.
Ashley S-
First of all, as per usual, I loved your blog. I think if you ever started one without a little narrative at the beginning it would just completely throw me off. XD It's very you, and expresses your emotion and thoughtfulness. Anyway, on to the point. I personally love late night flights. Our plane home from New Orleans was delayed and ended up leaving around midnight, resulting in us getting in around four thirty a.m. It was tiring, of course, but very calm, so your introduction spoke to me.
On a side note, however, I think we should audition for the summer musical together. ;] Performers never lurk too far beneath the surface, and if you're willing to give it a shot, I'm more than willing to help. =)
Now I know as everyone reads this they are going to be like "what a cop out!" But in all seriousness, I do not have a happy place. Sorry to rain such negativity upon all the people who have a happy place. There is no special place I go when I get angry or the stresses of life come bearing down upon me. When something infuriates me to the point of explosive anger there is no way to quell it except to just sit and wait until the fury subsides. Actually now that I think about it my true happy place isn't a happy place. Its not a real place. It's not even something I'm proud of. Saying it on the blog would potentially be detrimental to my upstanding public righteousness. Not in my peers eyes, considering I'm sure every one of my friends can infer where I go when I get really angry, or really stressed out. They've made fun of me all week because I went to this place by accident. Actually, Bunje you probably also know what I'm talking about judging by my facebook. However I don't like that place at all. In fact I hate going there. Its not a happy place, but it sure as hell is a place that makes me forget the stress and anger of the world. Personally, I'm ashamed of myself for ever going to that place in the first place. On further note, I'm ashamed of the entire reason why that's the place I turn to. It has nothing to do with "oh no one will listen to my problems," because many people will listen. Everyone will listen, just them listening never really abates my anger or stress it just confirms it. So instead of sitting and being constantly pissed off until the fury ebbs away, I go to that place where I forget everything. Now I could always just sit and think by myself like Jen does, but sitting and thinking just allows me the time to dwell on the sources. This in turn not only doesn't help me relax, but it potentially makes me angrier. In retrospect I realized that I have another place I go, but it is conceptually the same without the negative effects. When I'm severely pissed off or stressed out I just go to sleep. This place isn't always effective though, considering my sister tends to see napping as a federal offense and rudely awakens me on the point of seeing my slumbering body.
Either I had one of the saddest childhoods ever or my memory is in a state of shock due to my severe lack of sleep right now. I'm going to assume its the latter, because as I try to cruise my memory banks for a "best" childhood memory I can't find any that are particularly amazing. (P.S. I'm not suffering from the fake lack of sleep that a select few of you tend to swear you have everyday when you get to bad at around 12 at night. I'm going on my 41st straight hour awake at 11 o' clock.) However, now as I bore a hole into the vault of happy memories in my head it becomes clear that my best childhood memory is a compilation of memories. From the third grade to the fifth grade I was a big shot in the development where I had been living at the time. It was one of those periods where you begin to realize that having close friends is something of irreplaceable value, and I had three really close ones at the time. Everyday we'd go outside after school and escape the hardships of little-kid-life by doing athletics. Whether it was playing baseball using a field that was only a good fifteen feet across, or partaking in the little kid national pastime of the ever famous wall ball, I was a kid for once just enjoying life. With the collection of memories pouring into the basin that is my brain, I can still feel the welts that were seared across my back from that unforgiving green tennis ball. Of all the possible memories I could have chose as my best, this collaboration of good times has to be the most prominent and joyous point of my childhood. Just the availability to escape my household for a couple hours really makes these memories hit home for me. If I was any less of a man, it might have brought a tear to my eye as I remember the constant fear of running from first to second base and worrying whether or not the ball was going to brain you in the side of the head and knock you unconscious. Good times, good times indeed.
Before this blog I thought the prospect of determining if the two socks I'm holding up match each other was hard, but I have come to realize that there are much harder choices to make. There is a possibility of three places where I absolutely feel my best, and two involve football while the other is rather cheesey. The first of the two football related ones happens to be the marvelous facility known as the weight room. Within the weight room the air is always humid, headaches are no longer existent, and you are only as valuable as your ability to make others feel weaker than you. Upon walking in there the feeling of being home just wells up inside of my stomach. It's as if once in there a person is no longer a student at oakcrest; they are a football player, some other athlete, or a joke. Those are essentially the only three real types of people that are in the weight room. The walls of the huge blue rectangle must excrete some form of hormone, because immediately after arrival everyone wants to be a stud weight lifter all of a sudden. These feelings aren't even the tip of the iceberg, considering the incredible sensory explosion of adrenaline through your veins as you lift heavy weights. Moreover, the second of the two happens to be the practice field. Some of my greatest high school memories have been on that field, and its almost as if this is our true home. The weight room is essentially a winter retreat in terms of the practice field. On that field both great and horrific things have happened, but the beauty of it is there is no fame involved. Out there people play their hearts because they love the sport, not because there are fans out there cheering them on. The closest equivalent is literally being home, due to the fact that at home people don't do anything for their fans to see. At home, it's all done for the sake of yourself, not for the public. As cheesey and romantic as this sounds I really don't care, but the third is when I'm with Maegan. I could care less where it really is, just as long as she's there I can't help but smile. Even if she's wildly furious at me. That constant smile that looks plastered to my face whenever she's around is enough to ascend this young man to his absolute best.
Hands down, Dane Cook is the man to go to if you ever need to figure out what the most soothing sound is. In his comedic stand-up show "The Vicious Cycle" he makes the noise of a babbling brook, which in my eyes is probably the most soothing sound ever. The name of the sound itself just sounds soothing. It's an amazing combination of the beautiful sound of babbling and the wondrous melody of a brook. Together they make the slight gurgle and bubbling noise as the river peacefully flows down stream. I doubt there is any sound that can soothe my soul the way a babbling brook can.
In a non-racist way, the color that affects my mood the most happens to be the color white. Whenever I see something white, my anger slowly subsides and I turn into the fun loving character has come to love and hate. Also when it snows the reflection of unbroken white snow off the ground, literally soothes my soul. The utter beauty in serene colors like that plays a large role in constructing my mood for the present moment. So essentially the color white is a pacifier for my frequently angry disposition.
Unlike dilemma that occurred with the places where I feel my absolute best, I have a four way tie this time over the periods of the day that I feel most at ease. Its between periods 3, 4-7, 9/10, and 12. Period three has the potential to be the area where I'm most at ease considering Martino is rather hilarious in his wildly inappropriate behavior, which I frequently partake in goading on. My next choice is the series of periods between 4th and 8th, due to the zany antics of Seaman. It's literally never a dull moment there, however this could be eliminated on the grounds that I am frequently forced to defend myself against the barrage of attacks I get in that class. As crazy as it seems my next choice could have a very good potential to be the period of most at ease: Calculus. Sorry Bunje, but I love being in calculus class because the works easy and the lessons are rather boring. Such boredom creates an amazing atmosphere of ease, in which it's surprisingly easy to fall asleep within. Anytime I'm sleeping clearly I am at ease. The final period that is candidate number four for my time period during the day I'm most at ease is Lang class. (No I'm not being a suck up.) The classroom itself is very colorful and flowery, while Bunje teaches is an incredibly informal but purposeful manner. Its as if the class itself along with the teaching methods of Bunje are designed to make every student at ease.
Matt W-
Dude I thought I was the only one that still loves reading Harry Potter. I've legitimately read the entire series 12 times, except for the last book. I've only read that one twice. Its great to know that I'm not the only one who enjoys getting lost in Harry Potter still.
Well, I usually don’t need to “escape” from pressures of life because I’m a very easy-going, laid-back person. I can usually also handle a lot of things and still be fine. But I imagine we all have a falling out stage, and mine was last week. I had so much work and stress that I decided I needed to take some time off, which was the worst possible thing to do and worst timing, but very helpful. I dropped absolutely everything and did nothing all week. Needless to say, this made things worse. I started to slip down the mountain and plunged deeper and deeper with more work that piled up and my things to do list on my phone got longer. The longer the list, the less I cared and aspired to get back on track. In a matter of a week, I managed to start off at a bad start for the fourth marking period, and skipped all my classes at ACCC, which is the worst possible thing to do when the semester’s coming to an end, and each class is 3 hrs long which means when you miss ONE, you’re basically screwed. Which I was.
I put all the weight down, took a deep breath, and when I picked it back up, it was heavier.
To escape from pressures of life, I go to my room and watch Everybody Loves Raymond or sleep.
Best childhood memory….I tried, but I got nothing specific. So on to the next question…
Where and when do I feel my absolute best? In church because I’m fully content and always in the best of moods.
Most soothing sound I can imagine is Pink Floyd’s music.
As for colors affecting my mood... I’ve never even thought about this and even as I do now, I have no clue.
I pretty much feel at ease all throughout the day, butt I gotta say, after a long day of work and h.w, and everything else, it is the best feeling in the world to lay down in bed and know you are allowed to sleep…even if it is for a couple of hours…
Deana:
"The time of day that provides me with the most ease is 5 o’clock each morning when I get up for school. "
-wow, i would've thought this was the worst part of day for everyone. I know it is for me
My mother has this "thing" about locked doors. I personally don't have a problem with locked doors, but she does. She says "it's about safety" but I'm seventeen years old. I have yet to injure myself so horribly that a locked door became an obstacle in me receiving medical help. Anyway, this may sound strange, but my safe place is the bathroom. i have a very nice bathroom and, originally I was supposed to share the room with my older sister, (but she's at college so it's all mine now) With the wall to wall counter, his & her's sinks and drawers, It's a huge bathroom. When my sister was home we each had our own sink, three large drawers, and under an the sink cabinet. When she went away, she cleared off her whole side of the room, leaving a void. I never got around to filling that void. So whenever I want to be left alone, I head there. My bathroom door is the only door my mother doesn't argue with me about locking. If I turn on the sink or run the shower. No one bothers me. I find the room relaxing, it's clean white and bright. The counter-space my sister left is big enough for me to sit and put both my legs on. I don't spend a whole lot of time in there, a few minutes is just enough for me to clear my head. Sometimes I take my ipod, other times I'm just there with my thoughts.
I grew up in Mullica, which was great. Growing up with my friends and playing sports, I had a fantasy childhood compared to some. My mom spoiled me with the best barbie doll collection in town, my dad took me fishing, showed me how to play soccer and basketball, I had a big sister to follow and mimick I have a lot of great memories my best childhood memory would be
I don't know if this is my best childhood memory, but I think it's memorable. It was back in kindergarden or first grade, when soccer was still coed, during a soccer game. Someone had just passed me the ball, and I saw an opening. With my little five year old legs I dribbled the ball as fast as I could down the field. I took the ball from one goal all the way down to the other. No one was stopping me. I kicked the ball at the goal, but the goalie stopped it. Then I turned around and saw every player on the field staring at me. As I noticed that the defense players near the goal were wearing the same lime green jersey as me, some boy yelled that I just kicked the ball at my own goal.
I feel my absolute best in front of a large haphazard clearance rack. I don't really like shopping, I don't like fitting rooms, sales peoples, or spending money, but I do love a challenge. Finding the perfect shoe/shirt/jean takes a lot of thought. Memory is needed (you have to match what's in you closet at home) planning, logic (are you really going to wear this?) self control (yes it's beautiful, cashmere, designer, and %20 off, but do you really need a $100 tank top) and a quick eye (for spotting good deals) are all needed. Two minutes at a rack, even when I know I'm not going to buy anything, makes me feel better. All that thought process distracts me from whatever is on my mind. When I exit a store, wether I have a purchase in hand or not, I feel like I've been rejuvenated. My mind is fresh and clear, an hour of shopping or browsing is like a day the spa.
The ocean (cliche, i know) but I use to spend a lot of time at the shore growing up. Back before summers got complicated and crammed, before I had to worry about gas prices and schedules, I use to spend most of my days at the shore. I remember napping on the beach, getting ice cream, and going on searches for tidal pools. When I can't fall asleep immediately, I try meditation and the first scene I instantly go to is the beach. I picture the waves rolling in and out, and hear seagulls and waves crashing blend.
I find brighter colors, like yellows and greens, to be mood lifters. Bright foods like lemonade, sushi, and salads make me feel brighter and more awake. I'm uncomfortable in, not afraid of, the dark.
During the week I feel most at ease right before I go to bed. When my homework is done and I'm ready for the next day, my mind is stress free. Plus I'm in my jammies so I'm comfy too. =)
Mike N---
Every summer my mom would take us kids to swim in Lake Lenape at the cove. We would swim in the contaminated water and have a blast.
eww. I remember getting pink eye from that water.
Pmo (P.M.O? I expected a hyphen =) haha )
I just laughed so hard.
No blog this week?
Unbound by the limits of gasoline, the noise of an engine, and the toils of the world, I retreat to Between the Sheets. Not only is that a sailor’s pun, it is also the vessel that I have spent hours baking away in the glorious summer’s sun. There is a feeling that, I believe, everyone gets doing something that connects with them on a deep level of their consciousness. This place soothes them in the most trying of times. When all the lights have vanished from the horizon line, it is there to shield one from the rough, black seas. This relationship is give and take, for the protection will only last as long as the sails are full and the path is true.
Digging deep into the stores of my memory banks, my most treasured memory is something that only occurred last summer. Wading into the swift river, with sand still burrowed in each of our scalps from the day before. Eight feet, eight knees, four waists, and finally the big plunge leaving four heads underwater swimming across the river reaching for the opposite bank with the tips of our toes. We each burst out of the water one by one gasping for air. Some down stream a ways carried there by the current. Individually we climb out of the water in between two pine trees, which are only several degrees from toppling down into the water. We line up behind one of the trees looking at who would be the first to climb the back of the tree twenty feet above the water. One by one we file up the tree. Like paratroopers jumping out of a plane, one last look was given to the others and then the drop. As my feet left the sharp bark, I was weightless in the air, suddenly; I was submerged in the sandy water once again.
As of late I have not felt my absolute best in quite some time. This disease stricken body has become obese and mentally weak. I find myself forgetting things frequently, completely unlike my former self. However, there was a time when I was full of energy. It seems so long ago that I was a young child. Strong as a bull and as fast as a cheetah, I was a prodigy by anyone’s standards. I was on top of the world; unburdened by stresses of schoolwork, chores, and work.
The seashore is the most soothing sound I can imagine. It reminds me of my grandparent’s home. Seagulls flying round in circles, the gentle patter of the water lapping against the bulkhead makes shivers roll down my arms. This coupled with a canvas of blue in the sky, with slowly moving wisps of white clouds sliding across the artwork. This combination puts me in the best mood.
While lying in bed right before I drift off into Neverland is when I feel the most at ease. Knowing I have several hours to recover from the battering world fills me with the warmest feeling. At this moment in the day, nothing can disturb me; for I am hovering along the world of the real and that of the dream.
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