Decide to Rise Up
Saturday, July 22, 2017
I hold my hand over my face as another plate crashes into the wall above me. It shatters, covering my hair with tiny shards. It's two in the morning and my dad has just gotten home from the bar. He starting going there every night after my mom took my baby brother and left. It's been months since they left and nothing has changed. He stumbles across the room, searching for another object to hurl in my direction. My hands shake as I push my hair out of my face. The floor creaks and groans as he clumsily approaches me. The smell of alcohol becomes stronger the closer he gets. I try my hardest to avoid making eye contact with him. Despite my efforts, my eyes find his. In that moment, he almost looks sorry. In his eyes, I can see the man that he used to be, trapped and screaming for help. I want to love him, I really do. A single tear slips out of my eye and rolls down my cheek. Before the rest can follow, I turn and run towards the bathroom. I enter and close the door, locking it behind me. Seconds later, dad's fist pounds on the door followed by drunken slurs. I sink to the floor as the tears stream down my face and drip off my chin. I lay there, examine the cuts and scratches left by the plates and cups. I know what I should do. It's time to finally choose me, to do what's best for my happiness. I've been through too much, but I can still change it. Mom couldn't do it but maybe I can. I'm a stronger person because of it. I pull my phone out of my pocket and begin dialing.
Rise
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
I was on Pinterest earlier and found myself looking over the boards of someone I didn't know. I noticed one of the boards was labeled "Body Goals", for some reason I stopped and looked over it. It was what I had imagined, but it made me think. As I scrolled through pictures of "perfect" girls, of course I was upset that this is the way we are trained to think, but, I also thought about how we are told this is what gives us worth. People talk about the grind, is this what we think of striving to achieve, this wordly perfection? We were all made for greatness, but the world tends to put the wrong image of that in our minds. In the greatness we were created for, we are not perfect and we don't have everything figured out. Striving to be the most genuine version of ourselves in our human brokenness is the greatness I am talking about. I don't mean trying to get the perfect body, the nicest car, the prettiest spouse, or anything like that. I am talking about the things that go deep into our soul and radiate out; the things that fill us with a long lasting joy. There is nothing wrong with achieving a dream, working out to meet a certain goal, or saving up to get something you really want, but we must not forget that those things don't make us great! Rise up, work your butt off, and grind because we need that, don't ever stop trying to be the best you possibly can be. Think about someone you look up to, ask yourself why you admire that person, if it's for the right reason strive for those qualities. Think of Mother Theresa, if we all worked to achieve her virtuous qualities the world would be a different place! I hope I have made it clear that the best version of yourself is not measured by tangible things, but things such as love, joy, and patience. Rise up desiring true greatness and share it with the world!
~Sarah
Focus
Friday, July 14, 2017
I walk down the busy street, my eyes fixed on the pavement below me. I observe each crack
and crevice as I pass them by. Subconsciously, I adjust my stride to avoid stepping on the
approaching crack. I stop and wipe away the sweat that trickles down my forehead. My eyes
scan the street before resting on the reflective wall of the building directly to my right. I stop for
a minute and study my reflection. The people around me continue to push and shove their way
down the street, to join the mass of people waiting at the edge of the sidewalk. I look around in
hopes of finding somewhere to stop and catch my breath. The sun peeks out from behind a
building a few blocks down the street. I quickly shield my eyes and turn away. My head is
crowded with the distant sound of children screaming, car horns, and mindless chatter around
me. I rub my hands over my temples, trying desperately to make the noises stop. Strangers
continue to shove and push from all directions. I raise my eyes once again to see my reflection
staring back at me. Everything is much softer in the reflection that I see of the street. The cars
all seem to combine to create a parade of colors speeding down the street. People simply
become blurs passing by. The sun hides the top of the buildings that loom over the streets
below. I slow down my breathing and watch the clouds that cross the sky. In that moment I
realize we all need something to focus on. Something to save us from the chaos of the world
around us. Something that can stop everything even if it's just for a minute so that you can
catch your breath. So find that something, and when you do, never let it go.
~ Written by Katie
~ Written by Katie
Distorted
Wednesday, July 5, 2017 • distorted, mirror, poem, reflections
My smile fadedMy worth gone
My mood jaded
I could not go on.
An ugly face staring back
A body misshapen and fat
The mirror filled with cracks
Who am I looking at?
I cannot see who I really am
The image cannot be sorted
Only the mirror is to blame,
I am not this distorted.
Reflections
Monday, July 3, 2017 • reflections self love ripples mirror
Attract what you expect, reflect what you desire, become what you respect, mirror what you admire.
Well, where do I begin....there are so many different things I could say about reflections. First, and foremost, they can be distorted. When we look in a mirror, we are seeing ourselves; but are we really? I challenge you to think about who, or what, you are looking at in that mirror. Is it yourself? Is it someone we do not think we belong to? Are we picking out everything we hate about ourselves? Do we think we need to change ourselves physically? Do we look in the mirror in awe of who God created us to be, or is that reflection something we hate? This is project is all about getting people to think.
So stop and think about that for a moment.
How ever we look at ourselves in that reflection, is the version of ourselves we are putting out into the world. If you think you are ugly and not good enough, someone may not look at you and think "that person is ugly," but they could see that you think you are not good enough. If you get my point, you may realize that not all reflections are physical or tangible, but they can go much deeper than that. You put out a reflection on the world whether you like it or not, but you do have the power to choose what that reflection looks like. When I look out into the world, I see the reflection of myself in those around me, the bad parts, and the good parts. I then reflect back on myself and see what I can do to better my reflection everyday. I don't do this to become better than those around me, but so I push myself to reflect the best possible version of myself into the world. I know reflections can change the world, so if I reflect how I desire for people to treat me, maybe others will have similar reflections, thus creating the ripples. Ya know, mirrors are one of the most powerful things in the world, literally and figuratively, in both good and bad ways. I mean, you could easily blind someone with one, so I would say that's pretty powerful. As I mentioned before, mirrors show reflections of ourselves, we could use that reflection for good and bad. Well I now have an analogy, let's look at the world. Imagine the only mirrors in the world are ones that people have on themselves. You can't look at yourself in the mirror you carry but only the ones other people have. That means, the only reflection of yourself is the one you see in other people. Since you are looking at yourself and them at the same time you may begin to compare, but that is what has to stop. If you stand in front of a mirror, you may say things to yourself that you would never say to anyone else. But if you are standing in front of another person, that can see you as you study the reflection of yourself, will that change how you look at yourself and those around you?
So stop and think about that for a moment.
How ever we look at ourselves in that reflection, is the version of ourselves we are putting out into the world. If you think you are ugly and not good enough, someone may not look at you and think "that person is ugly," but they could see that you think you are not good enough. If you get my point, you may realize that not all reflections are physical or tangible, but they can go much deeper than that. You put out a reflection on the world whether you like it or not, but you do have the power to choose what that reflection looks like. When I look out into the world, I see the reflection of myself in those around me, the bad parts, and the good parts. I then reflect back on myself and see what I can do to better my reflection everyday. I don't do this to become better than those around me, but so I push myself to reflect the best possible version of myself into the world. I know reflections can change the world, so if I reflect how I desire for people to treat me, maybe others will have similar reflections, thus creating the ripples. Ya know, mirrors are one of the most powerful things in the world, literally and figuratively, in both good and bad ways. I mean, you could easily blind someone with one, so I would say that's pretty powerful. As I mentioned before, mirrors show reflections of ourselves, we could use that reflection for good and bad. Well I now have an analogy, let's look at the world. Imagine the only mirrors in the world are ones that people have on themselves. You can't look at yourself in the mirror you carry but only the ones other people have. That means, the only reflection of yourself is the one you see in other people. Since you are looking at yourself and them at the same time you may begin to compare, but that is what has to stop. If you stand in front of a mirror, you may say things to yourself that you would never say to anyone else. But if you are standing in front of another person, that can see you as you study the reflection of yourself, will that change how you look at yourself and those around you?
~Sarah
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