Changing Seasons Changing Lives

Every bit of the world is swinging in the breath of nature’s cycles. Similar to seasons, moments fade and return. It is here that we hope to chronicle those moments that are crystallized in our memories. These moments show the movement of our lives.

[hmsteaching-blog]

A Future Letter to Winter

Dear future self,

Do you still doubt? Do you wonder where to go or what to say? You’re still changing, just as I am slowly becoming you. I wonder how different we will be. Will my wishes for you follow, fulfill? 

I’ve heard the small piece of wisdom that all people are obsessed with the future, and that we never really live in the moment. If that’s true, my hopes are pinned on you, always. I know you’ll think of me when I’m only a memory, though you’ll know me better than I could ever know you. Perhaps you’ll think of me with joy, or with a slew of lessons learned, or regret. Perhaps you’ll wish for me in my simplicity or storminess; perhaps you’ll curse me and call me a fool. 

It’s odd how we can look to one another, but never truly be in contact, in communion. We are forever becoming, but never together. Somehow I can still write to you with hope and wonder. I hope you’ll think well of me.  

With every wish, The young, the unsure, the idealist, the escapist, Your present self

[hmsteaching-blog]

A Future Letter to Fall

Dear Future Me,

Sitting down, trying to write this has been tough. I don’t know where you will end up, but regardless of what you’re doing, I hope you end up happy. In college, we’ve struggled with asking for help, when we needed it the most. I hope you accept help from people now and learn from their experiences; you don’t have to carry the world on your shoulders alone. I expect you to let your emotional side come through that “tough” exterior you put on.  You’re going to continue to make all the boys run away if you don’t let them see the real you (us!).

Listen to mom and dad more, you need help with your finances and they know what is best for your heath (case in point, belly ring=horrible idea!). I hope you hold on tight to those reasons that made you want to teach, and you prove all those family members wrong who said “you’ll never find a job in that field” or “what a waste of a four year degree.”  Don’t bury your true reasons under the stress and nerves.

Forget and forgive those who have wronged you in the past. Learn from mistakes so that you are not doomed to repeat them.  Also learn to recognize and welcome change, change isn’t always a bad thing.  I’m not saying change completely, but don’t be so stubborn either. Remember to keep in touch with your best friends more, because they are your source of sanity.

Oh, and don’t forget to renew your gym membership.

And I hope your Chevy is holding up well and don’t forget to wash it every once in a while.  

Good luck in the future,

Me

[hmsteaching-blog]

A Future Letter to Spring

Dear Future Me, I hope you’re doing well, and by that I mean I hope you’re doing something that makes you happy. Right now, your plans are to become a high school English teacher and eventually travel the world teaching students and blogging, but I want you to know that if you aren’t doing that – I’m still proud of you. So what, your life might not be exactly how you pictured it as you sit at your desk writing this, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t right where you’re supposed to be! You of all people know that sometimes life throws us curve balls we could never expect and that is okay, I hope by now you’ve learned to make the best out of every situation.

 As you read this, I hope you’re picturing exactly what was going on in your life when you first sat down with your pen. I want you to remember the stressful days spent in the library, the long nights binge watching Netflix with your roommates, crying over stupid college boys who were probably never worth your time and the “Oh my God, I will never survive as an adult” mini panic-attacks you gave yourself every time you got called back for a job interview, a new bill came in the mail or dad stopped filing your taxes for you. Now, pick up your hand and pat yourself on the back. As long as you are reading this, you survived.

 I also want you to remind yourself of how hard this letter is to write. Now, I don’t want you to remember that you struggled to find the words to say, but that you didn’t want to put anything on paper you would be disappointed in if you didn’t live up to it. I hope you still have the mindset now and don’t ever make your plans for the future set in stone. One of the most important things you have learned so far is how uncertain the future is and that it is better to enjoy the journey of life and see where it takes you. Everything that has happened in your life up to this point has led you to here. The good, the bad and the in between has joined together to form you exactly as you are right now, and how you are as you read this might not even be the same by the time you finish it. 

Future self, I am not going to tell you that if you didn’t get married, have kids, secured a job or continued with anything that you thought you may have wanted that you failed. Instead, I am going to tell you that as long as you are still driven, have learned to love yourself as much as you love others, appreciate the people in your life and treat them well and can look in the mirror even if everything is falling apart around you and smile, then you have done a great job. I am proud of you. 

P.S. - I hope you still eat as many chicken nuggets as you do now, don’t listen to anyone who tells you they aren’t good to eat for dinner 5 out of 7 days. 

[digquotes]

[misscassandraakers]

[teachorg]

[darceyjade]

[inkyandscribbles]

Interesting Writing Prompts

Every year on your birthday, you are visited by yourself from one year in the future. This year, no one shows up.

Describe each day of the week as if it were a person.

Write a story that begins with a word randomly picked from the dictionary.

You wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of your books speaking to each other. Which books are speaking, and what are they saying?

A story about discovering that a certain religion (or your own) has been proven to be true.

Or, alternately, discover that your current religion (or your character’s) has been proven to be false.

Write a scene immediately following a tragedy. You may give hints to what the tragedy could be, but you cannot reveal what it really is/was.

Your main character becomes self-aware and realizes they’re living in a fictional story.

Write about the person you are know, meeting the alternate version of yourself at the same age you imagined you would be at a younger age.

Write a story from the viewpoints of a pen and paper being used to write a story.

Write a story in just six words.

You ride a subway through underground New York City and discover you can remember the pasts of your fellow passengers.

What, exactly is a soul mate? Get creative.

A short story about yourself, writing a novel. In the same short story, the main character of your novel begins writing a novel about you.

You discover the lampposts on your street are watching and gossiping about you.

[kassidy-writes-blog]

[thewritershandbook]

25 Books Every Writer Should Read

The hard work, the MFA vs. NYC debate, the negativity, the importance of a good Twitter account, the parties you have to go to, the readings you have to do, the people you should meet, the agents y…

[hmsteaching-blog]

Better In The Spring

There have been somethings I’ve seen that left me different than who I thought I wanted to be.

 I’ve taken many new things in and also set a lot of old memories free.

 The older I get the more complex the world has grown,

 I have studied, traveled, and have found that my house isn’t my only home.

 Snow has fallen, flowers begin to bloom and I have changed too,

 A positive outlook and appreciate for all that life offers, a new outlook on life I now suggest for you.

 Who you once were is not who you must always be,

 What is important is that when you look in the mirror, you are happy with what you see.

 I have a long way to go and will change to change with the weather,

 I will let the wind carry me away and travel with the birds, growing, learning and becoming better.

[hmsteaching-blog]

Better Than I Used To Be lyrics- Tim McGraw

"But I'm learning who you've been Ain't who you've got to be It's gonna be an uphill climb" "I can finally stand the man in the mirror I see I ain’t as good as I’m gonna get But I’m better than I used to be"

[opasgarden]

[hmsteaching-blog]

Blooming

Do you see that over there? It’s the nest of two bluebirds up in the tree. Do you see that over there? It’s the budding of the tulip plant my dad potted last year. Do you see that over there? It’s the girl with the once brown eyes that now look green because the sun has hit them just right. These are the first signs of life after the frost, a representation of new life and new outlooks. It is in the earliest stages of spring that we notice these signs of a world reborn, but it is in our comfort of the warmer weather that we forget about their beauty. The chirps of the birds no longer sound like a catchy new song, the tulip plant is in full bloom, no longer producing new buds every day and you have gotten used to the girl with green eyes that you forget why she caught your attention in the first place. What a shame it is that when we grow familiar with something we appreciate it less. It is the death and rebirth of nature we should be most appreciative for, not only for keeping the earth in balance but for showing us that just because something dies does not mean it can’t be reborn.

[hmsteaching-blog]

Underneath The Oak Tree

Last year, things were different. As I pull out my old photos, the memories come flooding back I browse through pictures of us laughing and smiling as we slowly strolled through the park. I wonder if it was the smell of the air, the warmth of the sun or this new adventure we had just begun that made us look so happy. Nature has always been something I admired and appreciated for all it had to offer, but with you standing there under the aging oak tree, it had taken on a whole new meaning. Spring had never looked as beautiful as it did in that exact moment. Here I am now, strolling down the same path we walked on just about a year ago. The flowers are beginning to peak through and the birds seem to be signing at the arrival of warmer weather. The oak tree is still standing, but you are no longer underneath. I walk this path alone now, learning to appreciate the beauty without your help. I can’t help but think about all the things that have changed since the day you and I stood there talking about our future, writing down the list of things we wanted to experience together. Today, I stand alone under the tree re-writing that plan, changing the “ours” to “mine” and the “we” to “I.”

[batmanwholaughss]

[hmsteaching-blog]

Warmer weather means outdoor writing! What are your favorite spots to write?

[artsinmyheart]