Write Your Wrongs

Stephen King once said, “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.” I first came to understand this whilst suffering from a long and depressing bout of writer’s block in which I began to question everything I’d ever written and everything I wish I had written. Desperate to put pen to paper and simultaneously feel good about the action, I sat down and began to write. Simple as that. No fluff, no gimmicks, no high and mighty claims of enlightenment and deeper understanding. And as my hand continuously smudged over the fresh ink, something magnificent was happening. I was growing. I was learning. I was getting better, just by trying. I was righting wrongs by writing wrongs. And I’ve still got a long, long way to go.

Sure, inspiration is a beautiful thing, but until I sat down, entirely sober and entirely bereft of emotional and artistic influences, I had no idea what I was capable of and what I needed to work on. It was both challenging and immensely rewarding, and it continues to be.

Inspiration:

1. The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.

2. The drawing in of breath; inhalation.

Draw upon the breath of your own skillfulness. See what you can do.

Gabriella

 

Weird.

Life is weird.

Weird like uncomfortable silence. You’re staring at your feet, giggling awkwardly at nothing in particular, desperately trying to think of something – anything to fill the silence with. The other person, equally distressed, rocks back and forth from their heels to their toes while simultaneously questioning everything about their existence. Time is slowing at an alarming rate, every passing second is pure agony, and you have nothing to do but pray that the other will break the speaking fast. It’s a painful, distressing, nearly unbearable experience that somehow leaves both parties feeling like they’ve been through hell and back, and have emerged from the depths hand in hand. We’ve been through this, there’s not much worse out there for us to endure.

Life is weird.

Weird like a long car ride. You’re jammed into a 13 year old rust-bucket with child protection locks on all the windows and only front wheel drive, sandwiched in between that one friend that smells all the time and the guy whose name you keep forgetting because you didn’t really want him to come with, but your other friend felt bad for him and insisted on bringing him along for the ride. Your legs are cramped and stiff, your hair is greasy, your back itches, and with each passing moment, your stomach twists tighter and tighter, groaning obnoxiously for snacks. It’s one big, chaotic road trip chock full of magical moments and not so magical moments all melding together to form the journey from Point A to Point B. If you make it out alive, you’ll be better for it.

Life is weird.

Weird like gas station bathrooms. You try not to touch the walls as you wait your turn to enter the chasm of darkness and suspicious stains. There’s a bearded biker with a ponytail and a neck tattoo in front of you in the line, an unidentifiable liquid spill beneath your feet, and a stagnant reek of artificial cheese that makes the air feel heavy and damp. Torn toilet paper litters the floor, the rusting faucet drips steadily, unceasing, and the image of despair is made complete by the graffiti etched into the dank, spotted mirror. It it horrifying, disgusting – but when you reemerge from the filthy pit, you now know just how strong you are. You have conquered insurmountable things.

Life is wonderful.

Wonderful like the quiet moments on long car rides in between stops at gas station bathrooms. Nothing is perfect, but amidst all the uncomfortable, unsatisfying, non-glamorous bits, you find that the journey itself is perfectly imperfect. The cold wind that rushes through the car window and bites at your cheeks, the tear-filled laughter that erupts spontaneously whilst telling stupid jokes, and the strange stories you have to tell after your unexpected experiences in dirty, rural gas stations all make the trip worthwhile. In all its random encounters, strange occurrences, tough spots, and hard times, life is wonderful. Very weird, but very wonderful.

Live the life. Live it well. Live it weird and find the wonderful.

Gabriella

Ways to Win Your Weekly Wars

Long weekends are both a blessing and a curse. They seem to arrive just when we need them. Our lives have become so hectic and fast paced, we begin to wonder how much more we can stand before we break down completely, and there it is – a redeeming light at the end of a formidable tunnel. The light is so beautiful, so bright we must look away, blinking deliberately to bring our eyes back into focus, and by the time we turn our faces back to its glory, it has passed, leaving us once again at the entrance to an ever-darkening tunnel. And this tunnel seems even more foreboding than when we last encountered it.

Only one thing is certain. We must carry on. No matter how frightening, dismal, or difficult of a task it may be – though we may scream and shout – tears may fall and feet may bleed. We don’t have to go silently, but we have to get to the other side. And there’s no saying that we can’t have a little help along the way.

So let’s not hesitate. Let’s face it head on.

Courage, My Friends:

>Slow the Time – Cataldo
>I’ll Believe In Anything –  Wolf Parade
>There is a Dark Place – Tom Rosenthal
>Stay Alive – Jose Gonzalez
>Dropla – Youth Lagoon
>Dog Days Are Over – Florence + The Machine
>How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep – Bombay Bicycle Club
>Sun Giant – Fleet Foxes
>Heart’s On Fire – Passenger
>Lost Coastlines – Okkervil River
>Lovers In Japan – Coldplay
>Wake Up Children – J. Thoven
>Back Then – B Story

Have Heart. You were made to win this fight.

Gabriella

Simply Say It

Why do we keep really wonderful things to ourselves?

It’s a simple question with a more complex answer. Maybe we’re afraid to come on too strong or to make the other person uncomfortable. Perhaps we’re worried about the response we’ll receive, or what those around us will think. All these fears are natural and understandable, of course. In a world where we must all be on our guard, careful not to let anyone harm us or do us wrong, we have learned to keep a lot of things to ourselves. Our mothers all taught us that same age-old phrase, ingrained into our minds like our own names, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” But they didn’t say anything about what to do when we have really nice things to say! So I say share and share alike! Simply say it. If you’ve observed something sweet about someone, say it for God’s sake! I promise you, it’ll make someone’s day.

Now this doesn’t mean that we should be insincere in our compliments and tell people things that we don’t mean simply to boost their ego. It just means that if somebody has said, done, or simply is something that we admire, we should thank them for their goodness by bringing it to the forefront. Take the goodness that lives inside you and share it with the world. Start with your own friends and neighbors, and watch it grow.

Don’t hold back,

Gabriella

Music You Will Remember

What a beautiful day this Monday was. It was the first Monday in quite some time that I just didn’t seem to mind. The weather was pleasant, the daydreams were extensive, and somehow, the world seemed both deafeningly loud and hauntingly silent, all at the same time. As I walked aimlessly around the campus between classes and trips to the cafeteria, I found myself both inspired and entirely whisked away by the stunning sounds of various film scores playing through my headphones that caused my steps to slow, and my eyes to wander as the world around me seemed to come deeper into existence, gradually growing more alive. The trees were suddenly far greener than they were before, the chirping of birds that saturated the soft music was the clearest it had ever been, and all around me, the people were more beautiful than they had ever appeared in the past.

There is nothing on God’s green earth that gets my heart thumping, mind racing, and spirit dancing like the incredible instrumental pieces from the films that I hold near and dear to my heart. The mood created, the emotions evoked, and the thoughts formed by music so gorgeous, it needs no lyrics to speak volumes, is something quite unlike anything else. It inspires my writing and takes me places I never imagined I could reach. In much the same way that a book can transport you to fascinating, uncharted worlds, music can be there with you along the way, enhancing and inspiring your journey.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s go.

Take Me There: 

>The Gravel Road - from The Village
>Song for Bob - from The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
>Song for Jesse - from The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
>Peer Pressure - from Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
>Time - from Inception
>Steve's Theme - from The Last Song
>This is Berk- from How To Train Your Dragon
>The Breaking Of The Fellowship - from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of   the Ring
>The Fellowship Reunited - from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
>Love Theme - from Romeo and Juliet
>Lily's Theme - from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Pt. 2
>Hymn to the Sea - Titanic
>The Beach - from The Road

Meet yourself on the other side,

Gabriella

 

Power, Perspective, and The Good Kind of Change

There is great power in a great story. The way in which a well-versed author crafts words, molds characters, and creates worlds is something truly inspiring. The compelling ability to draw a reader in between the lines of sentences and leave them pressed within the pages is something that I and many other writers strive for in our own work. It is the power to change lives – and to do it so simply, so eloquently – that is so alluring.

We all want to change the world. And there are many ways to change the world. But only a writer can do so with nothing more than an idea and a pen.

Life-altering words begin with the thoughts and experiences of those who put them down on paper. Perhaps what they say is deeply profound and eye-opening, or maybe it is just how they choose to say it that makes it captivating. Either way, the brief ideas that someone may have in passing could reshape their neighbor’s perspective in its entirety.

So why would anyone keep these thoughts inside? Oh writer, oh wanderer, oh scholar or simple man, for the sake of us all, share your thoughts, your ideas, your fears, and your questions!

The only thing constant about this world is that it is constantly changing. Let us all use what experiences, gifts, thoughts, and perspectives we have been given to be catalysts of good change. Meaningful change. The kind of change that occurs when you must re-read a paragraph of a book over and over again because the words have stunned your heart and you feel suddenly strange, as if you are no longer the same person that you were when you woke up that morning.

So tell me, what books, songs, poems, or other forms of prose have changed your life? Maybe they can change mine too.

Seek a new perspective,

Gabriella

A Word, And Only A Word

Hello, my friends! I hope you all are well and joyful. I haven’t much to say this evening, so I felt this word was an appropriate one to share.

Halcyon:
1. Calm; peaceful; tranquil

 
Be at rest tonight.

Gabriella

In Praise of The Young Man Who Danced At The Red Light

As I sat behind the wheel of my mom-style minivan I counted the seconds ticking slowly by. I began to wonder how much of my life I had spent waiting at these devilishly long red lights, contemplating everything from my very existence to the true ingredients of the Krabby Patty Secret Formula.

The particularly soft song playing through the aux cord was gradually coming to its close, stirring me from my daydreams and sucking me back into the boredom of the moment. My wandering eyes made their way to the car in front of my own, and I couldn’t help but notice the young, bearded man in the driver’s seat who was, for lack of a better term, getting his groove on. I haven’t the slightest idea what he was listening to, or what kind of a day he was having, but it must have been very, very good. As he nodded his head easily and rambunctiously tapped the steering wheel, I couldn’t help but smile. He was just so happy. His carefree demeanor seemed to emanate from the tips of his dancing fingers and reach into my own heart, so much so, that I began to laugh. And before I knew it, I couldn’t stop laughing.

When he glanced into his rear view mirror and noticed me giggling like a fool, he ceased his moving and grooving. I immediately felt guilty for having put an end to his joy, but my regrets were short lived. After a moments rest, he grinned back at me through the mirror and continued his lighthearted dancing. I found myself so relieved by his unwavering happiness that my smile grew even broader and my laughter even heartier. When he glanced back at me once more, his own cheer compounding upon itself, I was struck by the sudden urge to retaliate in equal joyousness. I quickly searched my music for an upbeat, sunny song, and settled on an old favorite. Starting a little timidly, I soon struck up a smooth and shamelessly silly dance. We laughed at each other and at the supreme kookiness of the situation, and I don’t know about him, but I had long forgotten about the seemingly never ending red light.

And as quickly as it began, it was finished. The cars slowly creaked into movement, stretching tired gears that grew cold waiting for the light to shine green. My new found friend pulled into the left lane in preparation to make his turn, and I stepped lightly on the gas pedal, ready to continue on my journey. As the engine revved and my soccer mom ride pushed onward, the young man and I peeked over at one another and smiled for the final time. I didn’t even have time to look back at him through my rear view mirror before he was out of sight.

Out of sight, but not so far out of mind.

Thank you, young man who danced at the red light, for making me smile. Thank you for reminding me to be joyful for myself, in the peaceful moments I spend alone when no one is watching. This one’s for you.

Keep living merrily. Keep doing you.

Gabriella

Adventure Is Out There

Here we are again. Another week has crawled slowly by, finishing up with a brief and blissful weekend that passes in the blink of an eye, leaving us all with yet another unfortunate case of the Mondays.

Today I felt like running away. I wanted to be whisked away on a gust of wind, swept onto a stretch of black asphalt: the foundation of adventure. To taste salt in the air and feel the cool itch of grass upon my skin was my one thought that carried me through the day, full of responsibilities and tasks that stood between me and reckless behavior. There is a time and a place for all things. For school, work, play, love, and adventure. Today just wasn’t the right day for spontaneous departures from reality. There will come another day, when all I have to do is grab the keys and go. But for now, I find my adventure in some of these songs.

Find Your Adventure:

>Nothing to Remember – Neko Case
>Your Are A Tourist – Death Cab for Cutie
>Robbers – The 1975
>The Funeral – Band of Horses
>The John Wayne – Little Green Cars
>Lazy Eye – Silversun Pickups
>Montezuma – Fleet Foxes
>Take Your Guess – Tom Rosenthal
>Green River – Real Estate
>Gone – Jr. Jr.
>Electric Love – BORNS
>Landforms – Other Lives
>Tokyo Sunrise – LP

Go get it,
Gabriella