Literary Contest: New Moon

Dry mouth,

I could see the pink in his eyes.

“Where is your phone, son?”

“I don’t know ma, I don’t know…” he answered,

But I could see the device in his hands.

I’m standing here on Earth

While he is up in the clouds.

His confusion fills the air

While my tears cover the floor.

I could hear the loud thumping of his heart.

Damn the feel!

“Why you up all on me, ma?”

I immediately brushed my fingers through his hair.

“If you could…”

Glass breaks, blood drips.

It was only small cut.

Aggression.

Paranoia.

I stood up while he stared at the ceiling.

He didn’t know.

My sweet boy didn’t know.

His shadow got bigger by the minute,

It made me smaller.

It’s taking over.

The New Moon is already setting in.

I grab his hand but he has no conscious.

His lost of balance is the only thing keeping him close.

I scream.

I can feel the pressure in my head.

He can’t hear me, he’s almost gone.

He didn’t know.

My sweet boy didn’t know.

As the moon starts to fade,

My dear son fades along with it.

I kneel before him but he’s giving in.

Damn the feel!

One knee, two knees

He’s on my shoulder now.

The loud thump, its gone now.

His dry lips, covered in tears.

New Moon is finally here.

He never knew.

My sweet boy never knew.

My First Time

It was my first time entering a literary contest and when the professor encouraged us to do it I couldn’t have been more excited. At first, I had so much work from other classes that I thought I would submit the previous poem we had given to our professor. But somehow, I thought I could do better. I felt like in the previous poem I held back from what I really wanted my work to be, because I just thought “Oh, its just a silly poem”. But I can honestly say that having the chance to be recognized for something that you don’t usually do (I study biology) actually got me motivated. Therefore I decided to create another poem, and this time I didn’t hold back.

I decided my theme and I even did a little bit of research, as I wanted my poem to be accurate and formal. After writing, it felt like I had given the paper a part of me. It felt like I had turned into a New York Times bestselling author during those few hours. As an insecure person, but also as a writer, I send my work to a friend, which knows how to give me feedback. I was so scared as I felt this poem was almost a part of me and as usual I was scared of what others might think of it. To my surprise, she loved it! She even specified this one verse that she thought gave so much emotion to my poem. What can I say? I was completely confident now.

       

After submitting my poem, the waiting time for it to be reviewed was tense. I was so anxious to know who were the winners! Sadly, I didn’t win nor I was an honorable mention. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed the experience. If a literary contest was the catalyst that got me to discover my inner writer, than I’m glad I did it. Somehow, I didn’t feel like I failed; if anything I felt like I succeeded. I’m so glad I got to uncover a part of me that I didn’t know and I feel extremely motivated not to write another poem, but to see what my writing teaches me next!

Once Upon a Time There Was a Girl...

She told me her story and it felt so passionate, so real... so honest.

With her permission,  I hear by share her story.

I hope you can relate to it.

Love me, please...

I wasn't thinking, please forgive me.

I was fooled by his sweet words and attention.

Oh, how a fool I was for taking you for granted.

The world seems impossible without you.

My dreams slowly fade whenever you leave,

but I'm afraid you won't believe me.

I like to believe you won't do the same as I did,

but I can see the chemistry.

He doesn't know it.

Is she better?

She is not afraid, while I am.

I don't want him to be happy with someone else.

We're a team and there is love.

But, am I worth the love and suffering?

Am I worth the fighting for?

Fight for me!

I feel like giving up;

like you've taken everything from me.

It seems like you too

and I'm in this war alone.

Maybe Im the only one thinking that it's going to get better.

Maybe love just isn't enough.

This song can help describe her story a bit more...

Help Me Remember by Rascal Flatts

A Student Takes a Stand

There we were.

A challenge had been assigned and The Reflexive Ponderers were not going back down.

The task was to create a short skit, three pages long, that presented a discrimination topic. The job was simple, or so we thought it was…

After a long brainstorming session we finally decided our theme: Latino/a judgment in high school, knowing we could relate to it. The idea was that a teenage boy/bully, Jack, mocks a Latino high school kid, Marcos, when he himself had his own problems to hide. Jack focuses on the fact that the Marcos is a Latino and calls him all sorts of names, including gay. The plot twist happens when Marcos presences a scene were Jack is being beaten up by his father outside the student parking lot. Receiving Marcos’ help, Jack realizes that he had been judging the Latino boy all along.  After this, Jack decides to stop his bullying, as he learned that judging people because of where they came from was an unfair treat.

The project was actually quite interesting. We definitely had fun acting out the scenes and watching how each member of the group gave a personality to his or her character. My character was called Jessica. She was part of the bullying crew but at the same time had  “unpopular” friends. In Jessica, I saw a girl who wanted to fit in but also was conscious about other people’s feeling and therefore felt guilty for being a part of things such as bullying. It was a nice opportunity to learn about discrimination and also present the message, to those that saw our skit, about how this topic is still present in our society today.

We had the chance to present our short skit in the Student Research and Writing Conference at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. The experience was great as it was something I’ve never done before. Standing in front of new students that were not part of my class had me very nervous, but in the end it was worth it. Overall, I enjoyed the dynamic of working together in a group. It was challenging to put all our ideas and opinions together in order to expose one main idea: Latino/a discrimination. Creating and performing a sketch is something that I would very much try again. The visual element of a skit makes an efficient approach to grabbing the viewer’s attention and can also present a message worth remembering.

60's Mini Series: Second Part

So.. I couldn't decide which song to share with you in this post, the 60's was just an amazing decade for the music industry. Nonetheless, I thought I could never go wrong with a little bit of James Brown music.

PS. In this video he has more skills with his legs than I've seen my grandma with a turkey on Thanksgiving. Damn that man moved!

PSS. Once again, don't be afraid to dance along with him before reading my post. Although I doubt you can top him.
Papa's got a brand new bag by James Brown

The second part of the 60’s mini series exposes the effects of the decisions made in the first part. Here we kind of get a happy ending to the story of each family as they found solutions to their problems. The middle-class family is reunited. Firstly, the father completely evolves by accepting his daughter and also supporting both of his son’s decisions and ideals. Second, Brian, who had gone to war, dealt with his anger and/or depressive issues by accepting help from his family and friends. Michael, on the other hand, continued to fight for what he believed in and that was to stop the war. Third, Katie took care of her son and definitely evolved into a responsible adult that dealt with her problems alone.

The other family presented, the African-Americans, dealt with a more devastating situation and that was the death of Willie. Nonetheless, Emmet decided to continue in his father’s path of non-violence. They even portray this scene were Emmet repeats what his father told him when he served food to the children: “Does the food taste better when it’s served with a smile?” Here we see another character that evolved and decided to change for the better.

The 60’s mini series is full of lessons and historical content. In the second part we can easily observe the final product of the evolution of each of the characters. These people were not only changed by the society but by the decisions they made themselves. In the second part, we can definitely see how each of them took great responsibility for their acts, but at the same time we saw their struggle. If we compare the issues in the society back then and now we can notice differences, however we almost face the same struggles. Young adults face peer pressure and the battle between following your heart or doing what society suggests you should do. We also face the problem of deciding what is right or wrong, an issue that Emmet struggled with continuously throughout the series. In general, the mini series serves us to see that our society has evolved yet still today we keep struggling with similar issues from back in the 60’s.