Constant thought rarely allows a man to resolve his concerns. For without rest, without a chance to step back, that moment of clarity remains tangled in the edges of his brain.  As it weaves its way through the left hemisphere, into the cerebellum, and down the spinal cord, it gets lost in the undulations and curves of the miles of brain tissue ( Read more... )

Panic. I feel the pressure building in my chest and I feel my grasp on it slipping away. My mind is screaming for it to go away, but it only seems to feed the fuel within my torso. Panic. The more I try to ease the tension the more it seems to grow. FUCKING HELL! Panic. I take deep breaths to slow down my heart, but it races a mile a minute. ( Read more... )

I stare at the wilted plant that sits in my new room in what is intended to be my home for a long time to come. It was a gift from a man I am just getting to truly know. A person that I am finding myself more and more comfortable around with each moment shared. Someone with whom I spent nearly everyday with before moving 300 miles away ( Read more... )

"Are you sure you want to go ( Read more... )

The second period bell rang. I gathered my things while waiting for the rest of my class to shuffle out through the doorway. Lifting up my oversized backpack, I groaned as I raised it up just high enough to get onto one shoulder. Staring out at the hallway, I took a deep breath and plunged into the sea of students parading through the halls ( Read more... )

I slide into the water of Lake Monona in Madison, WI and slowly swim away from shore. As I dolphin kick below the surface, I come up out of the water to see the first glimmer of light peering out over the lake. I take a deep slow breath and contemplate the day ahead. I dip back under and roll up onto my back, the sky shimmering a fraction more ( Read more... )

As thanksgiving weekend came to a close, I look back on it with a sense of contentment. It wasn't an easy week, that's for sure. Fitting in time with family, friends, and a potential significant other can be overwhelming. But in the end, it was a week full of fun, fullness (mmm. Turkey.), flirtation, and fights. And I probably wouldn't have it ( Read more... )

I turned over the top card on the pile. Orange. I dragged my red game piece along the board to the nearest orange square, keeping me about ten spaces behind my competitor ( Read more... )

In two short days I will be standing in my brother's wedding. My brother is two years older than myself, and galaxies different in terms of personality. When I received a phone call this spring as I was boarding a plane to Scotland, the last person I thought it would be was my brother. Even more, the last thing I expected him to ask me was to ( Read more... )

My parents are the epitome of polite.  When my mother complains of her bad back, I silently whisper to myself that it's probably because she has spent her entire life bending over backwards for others.  I remember screaming at my dad because he would say my drawings for class were "amazing" or "perfect" even when he couldn't even tell me what was ( Read more... )