#writingsetsyoufree

[terranator]

"When the coyote catches your eye and then you catch his &/or hers. Connection. The fire instantly burns in the soul and heart. Making you feel indefinitely more alive than the moments just breaths before we caught eyes." Terra Kirkley - aka #simplyme #writingsetsyoufree #coyote #beautiful #natureatitsfinest #animalsandnature #mountainlife #snow #creaturesroamingTHEIRland #lovelife #fireinthesoul #nofilter (at Crested Butte, Colorado)

[bruinsfanaticalfan-blog]

What Started It All

   I remember taking my seat in the second row of Mr. Bennet’s ninth grade English class. I didn’t realize at the time, but his teaching methods would open my creative thinking ability and affect all my future writing experiences to come.

   One day Mr. Bennet put a series of pictures on the white board. These pictures ranged from people, monuments, scenic location, vehicles, and other random things. The task was to create a story using three of those images. The first picture I selected was of a boy standing on the edge of cliff looking downward towards a small town. I studied the photo and was enticed on the saddened image it portrayed. In my mind, I saw myself as that boy standing on that cliff. My earlier childhood was spent traveling back and forth between my mother and father. My father was abusive to say the least, but I felt sorry for him when I left him alone to stay with my mother. This often made me contemplate where I stood in life. I imagined that the young boy in the picture was full of sorrow because he suffered from a terrible illness. I used my perception of the boy to link the image of medical supplies. The cemetery would be the final piece to the story, as it appeared my story would end in a tragedy.

   I wrote nonstop because I was sucked into my own writing. This little boy, born in the early 70’s, would enter his world with AIDS, or better known at the time as GRID. His life was filled with heartbreak because many parents protested his attendance at school for fear of contagion. Although we now know the real details of such a disease, the timeline I used for my story was one full of fear and unknowings. The little boy, Marcus, was bullied and lived a life of solitude. Marcus ended up taking his own life as he leaped from the top of the cliff.

   At fourteen, this was the first story I had ever created. I remember having to read this aloud to the class of twenty or so other students. When I finished, there was silence. This was deafening to me, as I stood waiting to be dismissed back to my seat. Mr. Bennet, broke the silence and thanked me for such a well written and heart shattering piece. After the bell rang and we were released for the day a few students walked up to me and asked where I came up with such an idea and tragedy. I stood there staring blankly as I felt like the odd student of my group. Truth be told, I have always pictured tragedies playing out in my head.

   Prior to this writing experience, I viewed the world in a very black and white perspective. I knew exactly what I needed to do to avoid problems with my father and meet my mother’s expectations to get by in both homes. My thought process worked well inside the parameters of the box I created for each scenario. Mr. Bennet’s writing activity allowed me to wander off into a creative realm I had buried deep inside. This story was dark yet real and shocked my peers. As an adult, I know now that some of the anxieties I have are due to the involuntary control of my own thought process. This experience helped bring those anxieties forward and use them in a creative way. This moment and the reaction my story received, showed me I could potentially embrace my thinking.