Vast Hell

It was in a small town that the government ran everything. And not just by laws. The government also ran peoples lives. From what they ate to their livings, the lives of the towns people were already planned out since birth.

It was in this complete control that people not only stopped thinking for themselves, but stopped thinking all together. They believed what they were told and did what they were told without question. Without fail, the government had a vice grip on its people. This went on for years, until a new member joined the community.

Edna had moved to the small town to seek peace in her old age. She had wanted to move away from the big city life and thought the small town would be the perfect place. But unlike the other people, she questioned the government. She found the peoples lifestyle disturbing and wondered why lived like this. When she asked around, no one knew how to respond. With in her first week of living in the town, Edna was no more. The town continued to live in its simple existence.

Thirteen Reasons Why

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

What if you were one of the reasons someone killed themselves? For Clay, this was the case, but he didn't know why. Hannah Baker had committed suicide but before doing so, she had made thirteen tapes, each with a story of a person explaining how it's reason why she killed herself. They went from one person to the next in the order they appeared on the tapes. You, as the reader, see how everything in a person's life is all connected and that a small event can start a terrible snow ball effect and just make their life miserable. 

The Namesake

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri is a story of the Ganguli family's journey from a trditional life in Calcutta to America. The newly wed couple arrive in Boston soon after their arranged marriage. Ashoke tries to adjust and adapt to his new home while Ashima yearns and pines for her home in India. They try to keep the traditions alive with their kids, but slowly, seem to be forgot in the eyes of the parents. The story looks at how parents have certain expectation for their kids and how the kids define themselves. It's a story of how we come to terms with ourselves even when we try to please our parents. 

That Sunday coming back from Karate. Suddenly there was a small little temple in the basement. Saturday morning prayers. How I stood there reciting things I didn't fully understand or get. Until eighth grade I did this. This thing I did mainly for my parents. Slowly, I started to go halfway in or not at all. I stopped going all together. The holidays and some ideas I get, but not all.

It's the practices, beliefs, and ideas from others that unhinged my mind. Since elementary school, there were days devoted to ethnicities from around the world. The research of our cultures in english and social studies classes. It was seeing the world from the perspective friends and peers.

It's the finding of you're own beliefs and being able to use them that sets you free. The simpler the rules the more content a person tends to be. They should open you to the world, not cage you in to yourself.

Sick or sushi?

"What's the rate of change for this equation?"

How the heck should you know, she just wrote it. Your stomach growls from skipping breakfast. You stare blankly at the smart board, feigning interest.

"What does the derivative tell us about the function?"

Day after day. Number punching, number punching, answer. That's it. Can't wait for Thursday. Hopping a train to Port Jeff. to see your sister. Match day, one of the most important days for her this year. She's vented to you about it so much, you feel like it's yours to. Going to have lunch with her.

You can miss the endless notes, lectures, tests, quizzes. The mind numbing routine. It's silent on the LIRR. The hum of the wheels scraping on the track barely noticeable. You sit back, reading, music playing in one of your ears. You look around, giving stories to faces. The guy in a business suit trying to look as sophisticated as can be or the pretty twenty something with red, puffed eyes who gives you a smile. You sit there, knowing that as you celebrate with your sister, someone else is dealing with their bad news.

Lunch at a simple sushi place. It's fun, sitting there with your orders of sushi and saki, reveling in the good news. The familiar pit starts to grow in your stomach and not from the food. Knowing that it is all to end far too soon. Knowing it's back to the same routine the next day. The unyeilding pen pushing.

And back on the train you go. Back to the scraping of metal. Back to sitting around. Back to trying to stay occupied. Back to staring. Staring at them. Them and their problems.

Where is home?

Broken down books

supple skin sliding

old wine to follow

gourmet grub

contained

in centuries past

Love, family

threads of childhood

routine, admiration

regret of secrets





Based on the book The Namesake