My River of Thoughts #1 Wake Up
Wake up, smell the fresh air. You do it for twelve years. The smell is the same every day for the first eleven years, but on the twelfth year, senior year, it changes. It is no longer the sweet smell known as “having all of the time in the world”. No. This year, senior year, the smell turns into complete chaos. The smell of time burning inside a clock. Childish things disappear. The adult years begin. There are foul smells ahead. The smell of deadlines, college applications, caps and gowns, senior pictures, and scholarships. All of a sudden, life has become rushed and fearfully exciting. There is no time to stop and take a break. There is no time to look back. Life wants an answer right off the bat. The only thing left of my school experiences are the memories I store away for later viewing. At this point in my life, I have to keep going. The memories have to overlap and be stored for safekeeping. The future is frightful, there is no denying it. There is no way to figure out what smells are hiding along the path to success. There will be sweet ones, but there will also be bitter ones. I want all of these smells. The future is now. It is not tomorrow, it is not yesterday. The future is in my hands today. It seemed so far away yesterday, but today is the day to shine. I can smell the future; it is fresh paint on a wall. The smell of sunshine will guide me to my destination. The smell of rain will pronounce any roadblocks or challenges I am sure to face. The smell of wind will blow me towards the right direction when self-doubt stops for a visit. The smell of the moon will keep me a wishful thinker and dreamer. The smell of the stars will tickle my nostrils with hope and dedication. The smell of the world will prepare me for the end. The smell of fresh, morning air that I have smelt for twelve years is only the beginning of many that will shape me into the person I want to become. In order to start smelling the wonders of the future ahead, I have to wake up. We all have to wake up and know that the future is pending. #2 How I Get the Day Right Among all of the plausible events that occur in my everyday teenage life, I can recall which shoe I put on first. It is always my right shoe. This specialized practice has become a daily ritual. My entire day revolves around this one choice. I have to get it right, or things tend to get unorganized and messy. The alarm clock rings for school, but I sleep through it and miss the bus. When preparing for my morning shower, the water fails to get above 60 degrees fahrenheit. All of the shampoo and conditioner bottles are empty. The towels that I use to dry off smell like sour, sweaty socks. The blowdryer and hair straightener malfunction, so I am left to deal with a sopping, tangled mop of hair. At this point, I am determined to restart the morning. I race to my bed, yank off my soaking wet, hightop converse, and stare at the demons before me. Cautiously, I choose the right shoe first, deprecating myself in the process and wondering why in the world I had worn my shoes in the shower. I figured maybe today was not the day to wear converse, so I tossed them aside and ran to get my floral blue sandals. These sandals felt much more promising. The right sandal was arguing with the left sandal, blaming him for my morning disarray of chaos. The left sandal shrunk away from the wrath of turmoil, ashamed. To disrupt the endless charade, I unzipped the right sandal and slid it onto my right foot. Then I finished off the deed with the left sandal. The problem was that I had felt no difference, no reassurance, no cease fire in the day of unfortunate events. The damage had been done with the converse. All I could do was go to school and hope that the misfortune would halter. It was fifth period by the time I finally arrived to school. I got out of the car and there to greet me was a heaping pile of strawberry gum. Ironically, it was my left foot that had stepped into the gooey substance. The day seemed to be transforming into a nightmare. I wanted to take off the sandals and throw them viciously across the courtyard of the high school. Instead, I carefully picked away the gum and went to class. The following events made me rethink what I had eaten for breakfast. I had failed to mix the proper chemicals together in Chemistry, which resulted in a char-grilled makeover full of soot. English class was a whole other horror story. The sound of cracked lead exploding from my pencil welcomed many disgusted frowns from my peers. My stomach would not stop making gurgling noises that could be heard from the opposite side of campus. But really, my last period of the day was the real winner. To put the icing on the cake, I walked into gym class without any gym clothes. I was told to run a mile in sticky skinny jeans. Anyone in their right mind understands the pain and discomfort one feels when their legs cannot breathe, save the fact that I already killed my feet wearing sandals. The gym coach, tall and towering over me like a dense oak tree, inspected my outfit and question where my gym attire was located. I stood there and went through the entire spiel about my disastrous morning. Coach Billy stopped me once he heard the part about me standing in the shower with my shoes on. Did it sound that ludicrous? He scribbled rapidly on his worn out, faded clipboard. I knew that horrific sound all too well, like the screeching of a chalkboard. Coach Billy gave me a zero for the activity, which dropped my gym grade to a ‘C’. With only one day left in the quarter, it was safe to say I was screwed. I left school that day, accepting the fact that even my sandals, put on the proper way, did not have the power to save me from my misfortune. The misfortune of putting on my left shoe first taught me a valuable lesson. Only one measly habit has the power to throw off my entire schedule, which is why things must be done the right way. The first time. In order for my day, not to mention my life to be successful, it all has to do with choosing the right shoe. The right shoe will lead me on the path to success and positive outcomes. Although it is an abnormal habit for a teen to pay attention to, it has shaped the person I have become today. #3 A Childhood Memory The darkness of a warm, September night set over the town like a blanket. The only light came from the moon’s reflection bouncing off their eyes. The girls ran to hide, far from the hunter.They went to the barn full of contemptuous wonder and waited for the hunter to finish counting. All of the girls could hear the chilling tone present in the hunter’s voice as he hit number ten. It was time to begin the hunt. He searched and searched until all of the girls were found. Shouts and shrills bounced off of the night clouds. The anticipation of waiting for fear, it was what mountain girls lived for each year. This was a haunting tradition to play every fall. #4 Onto the Next Chapter As high school was a temporary vacation, I now have a permanent collection of memories. From the first day of freshman year to the near end of senior year, I can take a fresh breath of air. I can look back and appreciate the years that have shaped my future. All of the assignments and quizzes and exams have led to this moment in time. I will be walking across the stage as a 2018 Sea breeze graduate. I will be finishing one chapter and moving onto the next one. Over the course of four years, friendships have been created and also broken. You begin to realize what is meant to be and also what is not meant to be. But that is perfectly okay. The important thing to remember about the high school experience is that it happened. Every single day of every year brought about new experiences that we will never be able to replicate. All we have left are the memories that will be cherished forever. While my high school career is over, my life career has only just begun.
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