Sunflowers and Happy Little Trees

just a uni girl (and wannabe writer) who constantly wants to eat handfuls of grated cheese, and is a bit obsessed with bob ross.

[sunflowersandhappylittletrees]

Lockdown - extract 2

Day 2

Yesterday I made a quarantine to-do list. Which includes:

· Read 5 books

· Paint 3 paintings

· Learn Italian

· Get good at yoga

· Actually learn the guitar

· Clean my apartment

· Bake

They haven't revealed how long we will be in Lockdown for. They probably don't know. I'm already starting to go stir-crazy. It's been two days. They have told more information about this mystery disease. It starts as a headache. That leads to insomnia. Which leads to paranoia. This leads to insanity – the man reports that this turns you almost brain-dead. Vacant, the lights on but no-one is home, zombie-like. Then this turns into seizures, which eventually kill you. That's what the serious man in the suit said.

I already feel suffocated. Bored. Lonely. Isolated. Is this some massive practical joke that's being played on just me? It's almost April 1st.

I decide to paint. I set up my space. I have a canvas, some paints, my brushes, a mug full of paint water, some cloth, a mug full of coffee (don't mix the mugs up!). I stare at the blank canvas. Blank eyes. Blank mind. "I want to run", I think. Dipping a large, round brush into my red paint, my hand shakes as I make my first stroke onto the canvas. It's an angry stroke. I do not know why. Dip. Stroke. Dip. Stroke. Dip and swirl. Wipe. Dip. Stroke. Dot. Dot. Stroke. Dip. Stroke. I'm so bored. Already. I put my paintbrush down. It rolls and spreads a smear of ugly, sharp red paint onto my table. Shit. I pick it up and dollop it into my mug. Shit. My coffee mug. Picking up both mugs, my pallet, and my brushes, I shuffle over to my sink and dump them into the washing up bowl. "I'll wash up later", I think to myself.

I shuffle back to my sofa. I wish I was in work. The first time I've ever thought that! Switch the TV on. Serious Man tells me that 83 people have died now. He tells me to wash my hands. He tells me that 16 people have been arrested for breaking Lockdown. I have a food delivery coming tomorrow. A man in a hazmat suit came to my door yesterday with a checklist of food. I ticked off what food I want. Cheese. Bread. Sausages. Pot Noodles. Pasta. Cheese. Mincemeat. Rice. Chicken. Milk. Carrots. Lettuce. Potatoes. Kale. Canned Soup. Peppers. Cheese. Weetabix. White chocolate buttons. That should last me two weeks. Hazmat Man told me I could only order a maximum of three of each item. I'm running out of toilet roll already.

I didn't think I would miss human interaction this much. It feels like I'm the only human left on Earth. I don't know, I could be – it certainly feels like that. I miss my Mum. I miss George. No, I don't. I hate George. But, I miss her. I check my phone: no service. Inhale. Exhale.

Extract from my first short story published on Wattpad, will most likely be posting a few extracts from the first few chapters in the future. Go and check out the full thing if ya want: https://www.wattpad.com/851868021-lockdown-casey

[sunflowersandhappylittletrees]

Lockdown - Casey (on Wattpad) https://my.w.tt/9uqeEjYa84 Casey is a newly single girl ready to take on the world and get over her ex George. However, when a mysterious parasite forces the whole country into lockdown, how will she cope… in quarantine.

Just finished Lockdown my first ever piece of writing published on Wattpad! Please please please take a second to give it a look

[sunflowersandhappylittletrees]

Red (on Wattpad) https://my.w.tt/LoAxMER435 Chloe Macready is a young girl in New York. But there's one thing she doesn't know and the local werewolf does - she's a vampire.

Started writing this in 2015 and found it again recently, it’s really bad! But, thought I might as well share it as it will most definitely be the worst thing I ever post on Wattpad!

[sunflowersandhappylittletrees]

Extract from ‘Lockdown’ by L. J. Atkinson

Casey

Day 1

The birds hummed quietly this morning as I awoke. They were greeted by a chorus of ambulance sirens. I rubbed my eyes, starry blurs. My feet hit the cold wooden floorboards as I swung my legs out of bed, wrestling them out of my duvet. I stood and stretched, my shoulders sore, I rolled them wearily. Plodding across my apartment, kicking last night’s dress out of my path, I reached my kettle, filled it up, pressed the switch, waited. I checked my phone. No service. Strange. Click. The kettle was ready. I heaped two large teaspoons of instant coffee into my mug. It has my star sign written on it. Scorpio. George bought it for me. I almost rang her last night. Poured the boiling water into the mug. Stirred. Sat down on the sofa. Rubbed my eyes, starry blurs, blurry night. I flicked the TV on. Channel One: static. Channel Two: static. Channel Three: static. Channel Four: A serious looking man in a suit reporting the news.

The man reported of a disease, which has spread rapidly from Ukraine almost instantly, overnight. Deadly. The UK has already had 12 deaths, in one night. He said that it was unknown how many people had contracted the disease. The Prime Minister appeared on my screen. It was a pre-recorded speech ordering a quarantine, a total lockdown of the whole country until the situation was under control. That would explain the absence of noise. I check my phone again: still no service. Switched the TV off. Walked to the front door, unlocked it, fumbling with the fiddly latch, opened the door. The streets deserted, like a ghost town. Closed the door. Walked to the sofa. Sat down. Inhaled. Exhaled. My body trembled like a freezing, abandoned kitten. Picked up my coffee mug with wobbling hands. Sipped. Inhaled. Sipped. Exhaled.

Extract from my first short story published on Wattpad, will most likely be posting a few extracts from the first few chapters in the future. Go and check out the full thing if ya want: https://www.wattpad.com/851868021-lockdown-casey

[sunflowersandhappylittletrees]

Mysterious Things In Our Heads (on Wattpad) https://my.w.tt/7rApxs1Zh5 A collection of personal poetry written straight from the heart. When I get sad I like to write poetry, when you get sad I hope you like to read poetry.

Hey all, decided to begin to publish a collection of my poetry onto Wattpad, I will likely continue to add to this, so watch this space! Please please please please check it out!!!

[sunflowersandhappylittletrees]

Hello all, I have just published my first ever piece of writing to Wattpad. A 5 part short story about pretty much the worst thing that could happen whilst quarantine-ing! Please check it out if you have a minute. It’s not great but I’m pretty proud of it considering I wrote it over only two nights. So please please please check it out it would mean so much to me, any constructive criticism is very much welcome.

[sunflowersandhappylittletrees]

Lockdown - Casey (on Wattpad) https://my.w.tt/9uqeEjYa84 Casey is a newly single girl ready to take on the world and get over her ex George. However, when a mysterious parasite forces the whole country into lockdown, how will she cope... in quarantine.

Just finished Lockdown my first ever piece of writing published on Wattpad! Please please please take a second to give it a look

[sunflowersandhappylittletrees]

If we look deep enough into the stars, We might just find the sparkle in our eyes again.

Anon (via sunflowersandhappylittletrees)

[sunflowersandhappylittletrees]

Working on a short story, really liking it so far. The first thing I have written in a while without planning it out meticulously beforehand - I’m just listening to music and writing. Incredibly liberating. Hoping to have it finished and published to Wattpad in the next couple of weeks. V exciting stuff!!

[sunflowersandhappylittletrees]

If we look deep enough into the stars, We might just find the sparkle in our eyes again.

Anon (via sunflowersandhappylittletrees)

[headspace-hotel]

Literally none of my story ideas come with a plot, ever. WITHOUT FAIL, it’s always just an Aesthetic, like two and a half characters, some very, very vivid settings, and a weird concept. Never plot. Not even an inkling of a plot. My brain tosses me this cool stuff and is like welp i’ll be back in 4-5 business months 

[sunflowersandhappylittletrees]

I’ve come to realise that writing is just a cycle of coming up with really detailed character descriptions and timelines of events leading up to the book, but never actually coming up with a decent enough plot to fit all your ideas.

[sunflowersandhappylittletrees]

If we look deep enough into the stars, We might just find the sparkle in our eyes again.

Anon (via sunflowersandhappylittletrees)

[pastelparrotlet]

Reading a book is all well and good until you realize it’s a part of a series and it’s too late to back out so you get sucked into months of obsession you didn’t prepare for.

[sunflowersandhappylittletrees]

I need to write a book called "I'm not trying to friendzone you I just don't know how to deal with positive male attention because I have low self-esteem".

[sunflowersandhappylittletrees]

Song review 1

Song of the week – ‘You’re Somebody Else’ by Flora Cash

I originally stumbled across this song while compiling a playlist to listen to when reading/drawing/writing, but it wasn’t until it came on while I was doing my make-up one day that I actually sat back and listened to every individual lyric. I read this song from the perspective of someone watching a friend/lover drift away as they slowly change who they are to impress others. I related this song to a close friend of mine, I watched her change and crumble as we drifted apart, I saw her go down a destructive path, a path to becoming someone that I didn’t know. “You look like yourself but you’re somebody else / Only it ain’t on the surface”. I asked her what had changed, she said that she didn’t know. It was like someone had taken over her mind, replaced who she was on the inside and made her carry on like nothing had changed on the outside. And that pretty much reflected my interpretation of the song.

While researching the song for this review, I came across the band’s meaning for the song. And it was far more tragically beautiful. The Scandinavian duo has said that ‘You’re Somebody Else’ is about how when you’re psychologically damaged you feel depersonalised. This song is a sort of letter to yourself, for when you don’t recognize yourself. When you’re disconnected, how scary that can be to see yourself like that. This made me look at the song with brand new eyes. A brand-new perspective. One that made me think from my friend’s perspective, and how damaged and scared she must be feeling.

This is the type of song that I would call “lie on your bed in a dark room on a Thursday night and cry” music, with its melancholy (yet catchy) lyrics, smooth and unique vocals, and mystical and ambient instrumentals. Flora Cash’s ‘You’re Somebody Else’ has helped me unlock an awakening perspective, a perspective that someone isn’t always the enemy; that it is often valuable to think from someone else’s point of view. And that’s why Flora Cash’s ‘You’re Somebody Else’ is my song of the week. 

Here’s a link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzjMmwki1Fs

[motivation-and-fitness]