Tag: Writing prompts

Writing Prompts #15: Write about an event going in your life right now, but try to write about it in the past tense

Posted on by anele25

The idea of having to leave Stanford scared me a little bit because I said to myself how would I be able to find any other work. I got my notice on August 31st of 2018 and it did not come to as a shock to me. Dating back to September of 2017, I was told that I would be getting my time cut. I started applying to jobs left and right in March of 2018 and I had little luck at the beginning. I would get inquiries about certain jobs but the more I saw how the jobs themselves would work I would get hesitant at some of the positions. There was one day in June of 2018 where I spent most of my time just applying to jobs and I couldn’t get any hits. At times, I felt discouraged just because I felt betrayed and let down by this place that had been so kind to me throughout the three years that I was there. I started realizing as the time started getting closer that no job is going to come find me, I have to go find the job. I had two interviews with a recruiter in July of 2018 and then another in June of 2018. I had hope for both of the positions but neither panned out in the long run. I had lost most of my hope when one week I got a few calls from a few different people asking for interviews and I jumped on some of these opportunities.

 

One in particular that I thought would work out was the job I had heard about in Foster City which is a city near here. I also heard about a great opportunity closer to home which was a job as a community engagement representative for Western Dental. As the time to let me go started getting closer, I jumped on the opportunity to interview for the Western Dental position. I knew it would be something new for me and something that I wasn’t used to. Essentially, without getting too technical, it was a sales position but on a lower scale level where we would have to make appointments for potential patients. I heard about it from a colleague of mine who had referred me to the position. I interviewed that next day and during the process of the interview, I was a bit nervous because I didn’t know what would be thrown at me. Little did I know, the interviewers themselves were probably in the same position as I was a few months beforehand. The department itself was new and it would be a while before I actually knew what I was doing. In essence, my biggest problem from transitioning from one position to another was knowing that I wouldn’t be there in my former position to oversee the whole process of the study after. There were reports, tables, flow charts, and modules that would have to be created in order for the numbers to look as good as they were. Little did I know that after accepting the position at Western Dental, that the problem of not knowing was out of my hands and into the hands of people that made more money than I did. I also didn’t think about the repercussions this would have for my social life. I wouldn’t see my friends that I had made there and I look back at that time and I’m very happy to know that once you leave a work place you really find out who the real friends are. They reach out to you or you reach out to them and they reciprocate right back. One of the few problems that I had towards the end was when I taking down my things and I cleaned up my cubicle and I started shedding some tears. Sometimes, I know that things are out of my control and when that happens I do tend to get emotional. I saw this opportunity and I started working and Stanford was in the back of my mind. As the days went on and the date for my exit interview approached, I started feeling a bit more relaxed and started realizing that eventually everything works itself out. I need not worry about some reports that wouldn’t have any real bearing on my career. Did I make those reports? Yes I did and I put some hard work into it.

 

A long time ago, a colleague of mine told me that if you try your hardest and you put effort into it, you will see the results of what hard work is. I had the backing of most of my friends and family and also my colleagues that supported through that part of my life and I saw how much they supported me. I was also able to realize that the job you do in this life is reflective of how much people will vouch for you. I said to myself also that the person that referred me to the position I would be grateful towards him and that is one thing 2018 taught me was how to be grateful for the little things in life. We in the Latino community don’t have the most nor do we claim to. But, what we do have is pride and the word of who we are. Looking back, that hasn’t changed and I am glad that things worked out the way they did. I took the opportunity to take what was out of my hands (in this case being laid off) and I made the best out of it. I continued my work at Western Dental and the story there is still to be told as I will detail it more with due time. I had my exit interview and I had the best experiences at Stanford. I realized I couldn’t have done anything other than what was asked of me. I went and I found my numbers and with much luck was able to see that the work that you do is a reflection of how much effort I was able to put in.

Writing Prompts #13: Have you ever had something stolen from you?

Posted on by anele25

This is a weird subject for me because I have had something stolen from me and one of the times it did happen to me, I felt it unnecessary for it to happen in the first place from my end. I don’t blame myself for the incident happening but I felt I could have handled the situation a little better beforehand. A couple of months ago (January 31st to be exact), I had my credit cards stolen from me at the gym I frequently go to four or five times a week during the work week. I usually have my routine of waking up in the early morning (sometimes around five in the morning and sometimes around six in the morning). I got up and it was like any other morning where I ride down Central Expressway and hit the lights and eventually there I was turning onto California Street. I decided (unbeknownst to me at that time of when I was entering the gym), that I would take my wallet inside. I walked into the gym like any normal Wednesday morning and off I went to do my cardio and my weight training. First, I stopped off at the locker where I leave all my stuff and I left my keys in there as well. I found it odd that a gentleman asked me that morning if I had a charger for a phone which might have been an android style phone. I told him I didn’t have a charger and at that time I didn’t think anything of it. I grabbed my usual Bluetooth headphones and headed off to do my business. I worked through the usual morning workout and then I headed off to my locker. I found my locker cut and my glasses off to the side in a random locker.

Missing was my key fob (unlike a modern key you just carry this around with you and leave it in the car and it will start) and my credit cards. I still had my keys which was awesome and just in case I needed to head to work I would call an uber or what have you. I was first upset and then sad because the person who took my credit cards didn’t know who I was nor did he intend to know who I was .I was also concerned about my car because I had seen my car out there the last time Iooked outside but who knows what time this thief could have grabbed my stuff and he could have taken off already. I grabbed my clothes and changed really fast before heading out. I walked out and saw my car was still out there which was a relief and I headed back to the gym to see if anyone had my key fob. Before I even headed in, a nice gentleman working at the front desk pulled out the key fob and right there I said thank you over and over. I told him I had noticed someone asking for a phone charger and he had a feeling as to who it may have been. He said he had found it just dropped out on the floor and he said he picked it up because he felt that someone would need it eventually. The funny part about the before and after of the incident is that there are a few things that matched up and a few things which I considered a miracle. I will touch on that in a second. The first thing after getting in my car I did was report my credit cards stolen from my local banking service and went ahead and cancelled my other credit card I had for other occasions.

I got to the office still a bit sad about the situation because I didn’t have my major credit cards but I still had my debit card. I waited a few days to see if there were any activities on the card. Eventually there were two that popped up from one of the major credit cards but they were settled right away after I declared that those were not my charges. Anyway, a couple days later I read an article in the local paper that said how a man had been stealing car keys and credit cards from that gym on an on, off again basis and it turned out that the gentleman was in the area around the same time my incident had occurred. I connected the dots and saw something in the article which stated that there were other incidents around the area and I felt that there was more than one person possibly committing these crimes but I’ll never know. Another thing I found odd (in a good way) about this was when the gentleman who gave me the keys was almost like someone who appeared out of the sky. I have not seen him since nor do I think will I ever see him. I wonder sometimes if those incidents happen to teach you a lesson about keeping your items safe and secure. If it’s possible, that gentleman could have been there also to teach me that not everyone has a kind heart but for the majority of people I would say that they are good people. After this, I went ahead and started putting my key fob inside a fanny pack which I carry around with me almost every time I go now. One good thing that came out of this was my sister-in-law laughing at me as soon as she saw the fanny pack that I was wearing.  I also stopped bringing my wallet inside the gym and usually leave it hidden so no one can get to them. The gym I feel is one of the few places I can go to where I feel safe enough that I can leave my stuff in my locker without them being stolen. Now, I can go inside do my Monday-Friday of Treadmill, Stairmaster, Bike, Elliptical, and Potpourri of activities without having to worry about any of my stuff being stolen. I hope this person has learned some kind of lesson in the deed they did because I sure do know that I did. This life is full of surprises and those are thrown at you to give you some good lessons. If anyone is interested in reading the article about this person that may have committed these crimes or might have been connected in any way, I’ve attached a link in this entry.

https://www.mountainview.gov/news/displaynews.asp?NewsID=1257&TargetID=9

Writing Prompts #9: Describe the most beautiful sound you have ever heard

Posted on by anele25

The prompt here got me thinking about what is the most beautiful sound you have ever heard and this one for me is easy as I once ran across a song by Riz Ortolnai when I was younger. The name of the song is called “A Blessed Event”. One thing that stands out for this song is that is so simple and it puts me at ease whenever I hear it. I could be driving, at my job, at the house doing chores, and overall I just enjoy the sounds in the song. I liked the sounds at the beginning as it begins with a horn and a little chelo sound. The sound is beautiful to me because it goes so smoothly without interruption of any other instruments and it just goes along and it makes me happy. It begins with a kind of a “do-do-do” instrument and it keeps going along until it hits this special spot in my heart. I feel as if this song was created with the intention of getting you in a good mood. I could be wrong here but having this beautiful sound full of wonder, awe, and hope is all in this song. I feel like I’m walking through any situation in life and feeling as if I can do it. I remember when I used to live in a condo in San Jose and this song would come on. I didn’t have many friends and this song made me feel this beauty inside. The kind of beauty you or anyone else would never hear again. I get the feeling that Ortolani got the idea to make this song so people can get this big emotion inside of them.  I can come with this song and it feels as if I am working on something greater whether its having a family, accomplishing my goals, or getting fit. It’s funny, because I heard this song when I was younger when I was watching El Chapulin Colorado. If you don’t know who that is he is the Mexican superhero who always comes to the rescue of his people that call for help. Roberto Bolanos really did want to show people his talents by busting out this song at the end of some Chapulin songs. I want this blog also to be aware of some other beautiful sounds I have heard. I sometimes go to the beach and pontificate what is going on in the ocean. There is a mystery that goes beyond the greatest realm of what is there. As I hear the waves, I feel this calmness and this ability to breath in new life inside of me. I can be standing on the edge of a rock or at the side of an ocean and I can just hear myself go with one with the waves. The waves also have these calming effects to them that only certain people would be able to describe.

 

The more I see waves and the more I hear them I just want to live freely within that ocean and wonder what is there. It feels as if the Earth is moving at a slow pace and you can just hear everything slow down for a quick second. One of the best times I have ever had in life was when I was younger and we took a late night trip to the beach and the waves were coming slowly that day. This was at a beach in Sinaloa and the waves were coming in rather slowly that night. I was out with my Aunt and her husband and we just went down to the sand. I walked by the waves several times and as they came in I realized the breath of fresh air was coming in to somehow suspend my belief that this was life. The waves kept coming and I could think about how nice and peaceful that was at that moment. I kept walking until my aunt and her husband stopped for a few minutes and just marveled at several things around them. I could tell that they too also enjoyed the waves that night. There is also nothing better than the ocean waves because of how fast they can change once you get inside for a quick dip. I know that once you get inside the water there is a different feeling as well because they can come on top of you in an instant and it doesn’t feel as fast as it used to. The one last thing I enjoy about the ocean waves is that water in general is a very soothing thing to have around you. One last memory I can remember about the waves and how comforting of a sound they are is when I was at a beach in Monterrey and I was standing on some rocks. The water was coming close to the rocks and I could feel that my body was somehow scared to go inside the water. I was standing against the rocks and once you get passed the water hitting you close it doesn’t get all that scary. I went down and I sat against some rocks and I could feel the water coming towards me as if I were one with the ocean at that very moment. There is no better feeling to be amongst something other than the water that comes towards somebody. The sounds that it makes, the whoosh that it makes as it gets closer, and ultimately the overall good feeling it gives. I hope one day many more people can come to appreciate the ocean waves and the sounds that they make for all of us. They say that beauty comes in many forms and this sound of ocean waves gives me comfort, satisfaction, and a great deal of hope. I know as I grow older I can give others the same feeling by integrating my life with there’s and telling them a little more about the ocean waves.

300 Writing prompts Number 7: What is one of your greatest blessings?

Posted on by anele25

7 prompts into the 300 writing prompts and this one popped up for me and I would say that the greatest blessing is having family in your life. It’s funny you’re born, your parents have this thing called a child and they somehow have to dress it up. My family has been there for me to give me many things and you just wonder if sometimes it is luck of the draw. I know of friends and family where they struggled early on to gain any sort of familial support in their journey. I can say in my recent years that my family has supported with my decisions. The two things that I wanted to accomplish in the last ten years was to buy a car and finish school. I ended up accomplishing both in the last year and I could have done both without their support. I also recently noticed that no matter things may get or if you end up upset at each other at the end of the day, they will be there for you to welcome you with open arms. One example I can think of where they were there for me was when I had been going through my transition of going from community college to upper division at San Jose State.

 

I mentioned this earlier but I think what happened along the way was that they gave me the motivation to be better than I was. I needed the extra push from my family to do well because I saw them struggle when I was younger. I saw sometimes how my mom would come home sometimes at 6 at night from work taking the bus or my dad who would come sometimes at midnight from work. I would see the little sacrifices made here and there so we can enjoy a better life one day. Every year we would save up and go to Mexico to enjoy the family we had over there. This is before everyone had kids and had obligations and before the world started moving so fast. I felt that back then that my parents wanted to give their own blessings a little taste of who and what their families were like. I can remember every summer we would spend at Grandma’s and everyone was just free and on their own.

 

To me, this was a blessing behind a blessing because every summer we would see the same cousins and people we knew. I could see that my family wanted us to bond with our family so they can see that expanded family was also a part of us as well. My fondest memory of us all being together was back in 2004 as our time was winding down and me and my cousins were bonding over random conversations. You can see from the beginning that our family wanted nothing but the best for us. I’m grateful for these memories and many others. The human body is susceptible to certain illnesses and one that comes to mind was when my dad was going through a skin disorder and I had to take him and back and forth to appointments. The hardest part was knowing that this person was in your life and now you had to care for them. I bonded with my dad at that point because this was the period in his life when he was still going through his restaurant job as well. We would stay up and watch wrestling together on Mondays and now in some ways that was being taken away from me. He would ask me how and why these wrestlers were fighting and I would need to explain it to him. I was so happy about this whenever we would get the chance to do this but like I said now it was being taken away from me. The moments when I would see him struggle reminded me of the times when I would see him come home late after work and he would still be there to go along with his kids and enjoy their time together. Recently, I also remember my dad would say that he had nowhere as time has gone on, my mom has also started to show some signs of slowing down and this is the impending kidney dialysis that she has with her. I can see her struggling little more now and as time goes on I want to learn as much as possible within the next few years. My brother has given me one of his best blessings which his ability to guide me about various topics. I can remember growing up and the one line that always sticks with me is when I had gotten upset because I was unable to pass my DMV test and he gave me encouragement that day to continue forward. I’m sometimes grateful for him becoming my friend because I learned about how to talk and speak up to people.

 

Before, I was shy and didn’t know how to take things with people. I often credit my brother for helloing me finish my schooling as well because he didn’t finish school and often we look to our brothers for advice as well. As I go through my older years, I eventually want to be that blessing to my sons as well because the greatest gift you can give to a child is a life full of adventure, warmth, love and understanding of living. Blessings give us the ability to see that life works in a funny way. You’re stuck with your family and you learn to function with them every day. I can see as I get older that I am going to stare at whoever, somebody that I have next to me and see my own family growing right before my very eyes. These are the reasons I think we have blessings: To be able to show us that life can be a fun and exciting time as we grow and learn from each other. I also think the experiences we can provide each other as time goes on to talk about and laugh at these times are the wonderful times we can have. Till next time everyone.

Writing Prompt #5 Imagine you are planning a trip across the continent on which you live: Assuming you have unlimited time, resources and energy, what will be your mode of transportation?

Posted on by anele25

I was digging through the 300 writing prompts last night and came across this prompt which got me thinking: What would be the easiest mode of transportation? What would be the hardest? I narrowed it down to an airplane being the easiest and the car being the hardest. In the middle I would put a train. The continent I live on is North America which consists of 23 countries and I would imagine several dozen states. The continent itself consists of 9 million miles and I would first start out with the local United States and eventually head down south. Afterwards, I would head back up north to Canada. Out of these three options that being the “planes, trains, and automobile” options I would take a car because I would get to see some interesting places that I would not see on an airplane. I get the sense when I am on a plane that I get to see the clouds, the scenery of the mountains, and the rain if the weather permits. On a train, you get the option of seeing the scenery as you go along and you can also tune up some of your music as you go along on the trip. For a car though, you get all the stories of traveling around the continent and not necessarily limiting yourself to one place. The unlimited resources and time would also be a plus because I would not have to worry about spending money. I would be quite fond of also getting to get that unlimited resource perk because you never know when you might need something for the trip such as food and gas. I would also want to go with people that I have in my life so that the trip will be entertaining and I would get to experience many other things with them. There is something fun and exciting about getting to spend hours and hours in a car with the ones you care about. For the most part, I have been in cars with my family on trips. However, I remember a few years ago when I took a trip with a friend of mine to Hawaii and the experiences we had were unforgettable. I can just imagine what it would have been like had we had a car and some other unlimited resources such as money. Another nice thing about traveling with others and having these unlimited resources would be the discussions that people would have. I know friends I have would discuss some interesting topics as well.  I’ve also been on a few trips by myself and it is peaceful but experiencing these things with others would be worth it. I still remember what it was like driving from Tampa Bay to Miami and just remembering how peaceful it was. It rained afterwards but I still remember just thinking, this is a nice life to have and want for the future.

Another example I can think of is if I were traveling across the country and I happened to hit a state like South Dakota it would be nice to stop by some national parks such as Mount Rushmore, Badlands National Park, and the other wonderful scenery. I’ve always wanted to explore some states that I may not know so much about that you hear so much about. There may be nothing there (or so I think) but I feel we are so used to going and going but sometimes we forget that there are other states out there. A few states that come to mind in this case may be South Carolina, Iowa, and Montana. South Carolina is one of those states that also plays host to the coastal resorts and this is something I would also want to explore. Iowa is also host to the Bridges of Madison County. From what I have seen, there are a total of six bridges and these too would be something on my list of must see. The bridges are Cutler-Donohoe, Cedar, Hogback, Holliwell, Imes, and Roseman. These bridges all look like something that would be quite the experience. There is also something about bridges that gets me thinking and also the construction that may have gone into them is also something that is interesting. Another example that I can think of when I pass these states would be to visit the national parks there as well. The two national parks that are famous there are Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park. I’ve also seen someone that was in the wrestling business who now lives in Montana. He lives on a ranch and the more I think about, the more I think that this would not be the worst idea because you would be away from the hassle of the world. I also think having unlimited energy is also something that can be important towards traveling across the continent. We live and care for our houses, work our jobs, and take care of our loved ones. The one thing we forget sometimes is that having energy to even travel is there. We do our routine of getting up, doing our regular grind, and then we go off. The traveling aspect of seeing these new locations can give one the idea that it is such a small world around us and the continent that is around us can be so much bigger. For someone’s job who it is travel, it may get boring and routine but it would be something different because I would actually get to stop and see these destinations.

Sometimes, when people travel all they do is their business and they are just out of the area. For example, one of my friends who was recently here for work said his co-workers just wanted to see San Francisco. I can vouch for one that the Bay Area is much bigger than that and there are many more cool destinations to see around the area. The same thing can be said for the Space Needle in Seattle possibly. I remember going up the hill for Kerry Park in Seattle and thinking the average person most likely not see these places when they travel. These words that I have written are just of the few reasons I would want to drive instead of flying because the accomplishment of actually getting there and seeing it is something for the human eye to see. The car itself would probably the car I have right now because having that wonderful Dodge Challenger traveling across the continent would be awesome with engine revving across and experiencing it along the way. I would also make sure to stay at least one night in every state in the United States portion. As for the other parts of North America, I would definitely be open to exploring the other countries as well however for now I would stick with going here in the United States first and then going to other places as well. This was definitely an interesting piece of writing to write because it got me thinking of the possibilities that would be possible with all the places to explore with unlimited time and resources which is something we can never get enough of! Until next time, I’m really enjoying these writing prompts! Your author Jose.

Writing Prompts #4: Do You have anyone in your life that has acted as a mentor to you? Have you ever helped someone out in this Way?

Posted on by anele25

The next writing prompt which is outlined above is something that I have never thought about until I saw the prompt over the weekend. Seeing as how today is President’s Day, I thought I would sit down and write a little about someone who served as a mentor for me when I started working at Target almost 10 years ago. How the timeline is doesn’t matter for context of this story because these are just a few of the things I appreciated about this gentleman. I remember meeting this older guy, who for identity purposes, we’ll call Jacob. I remember first meeting him when I was working in the grocery department and some customers were looking for somebody by his name. The catch was that they had to find someone by his name and take a picture with him. I then realized this guy must be really cool for them to ask him that and he takes the picture with them. From there, Jacob started acting as a mentor to me. I remember one particular instance where I got called by a customer and someone had (in a joking fashion) said that their name was Jose and I was freaking out because I had never even spoken to this customer over the phone. I then started asking around and asking if anyone knew who had used my name. Little did I know, Jacob told this person who had used my name to tell me that it was him because I had been freaking out. This person who had used my name then apologized and after that I said, ‘wow that was really nice of Jacob to go up to this other person and stick up for me’. I then realized that I can learn so much from Jacob and his life experiences. He had worked various jobs and he knew what it was like to interact with people. I wasn’t the most social or outgoing person and he taught to just be natural and not act awkward towards customers. I also learned that you can take things personally or not because we were dealing with people all day whether it was with managers, team members, and customers. His advice was helpful because he gave me confidence to advance in life and he also taught me one of the many important lessons in life: work hard and eventually you’ll get your due.  I also started taking a less serious approach over the months as I was working there and I remember in my review for the first year working there, I got told that I was unapproachable and didn’t seem friendly. Jacob gave me the advice that you just need to relax and not take it so seriously.

 

I started smiling a little more at work and giving good customer service as opposed to before because I was not used to being in such an environment. As the years went by, myself and Jacob started working a lot more together and we bonded over the amount of work we would have to do, life advice, and sports. The one thing Jacob helped me with was realizing how much I helped myself out by separating myself from certain people. I remember him telling me that a certain friend of mine seemed different and one piece of evidence was when this friend of mine was switching teams because his team the Broncos had lost to the Raiders (best Football team out there!). I then started realizing my friend was just trying to be trendy by being with winners. He told me specifically ‘you’re in it for the teams and sports he isn’t’. It was one of the few moments I made the analogy between folks switching teams and the friendships they build. The way you drop friends and then decide to switch teams was apparent right there. These moments that I have mentioned above are why this Jacob fellow was one of my first mentors in life. He made you feel appreciated, he listened to you when it mattered, and we also shared some details about our own lives. I appreciated another time me and Jacob had a long discussion about me transferring stores. I had done the decision because I wanted to be closer to home and I was finishing up my final year at San Jose State. He supported me in this choice and I remember feeling pretty sad because I knew that I would not be able to talk to Jacob as much as I used to. I lasted at my new Target store 6 months but I remember stopping by to make a payment to a friend of mine. I saw Jacob there and we started talking about old times. I realized that I missed his advice and I remember I would have situations where I was just stuck whether it was at home, at work, or in life.

 

Almost a year ago, I saw one of my old co-workers and she gave me the news that Jacob had recently been diagnosed with Cancer and I was extremely sad that I never got to connect with him over that. It’s funny because I asked her to give me his number so I could contact him and ask him if I could help out in any way. I never got that opportunity but I would imagine it was hard on him. I would say the second part of that prompt is something I’ve always been interested in doing but it is not something that has come up in life. I would say Jacob taught me to be me most of all and also break out of my shell when it was necessary. I remember some of his classic sayings were ‘I just work here’ and ‘two highs ok with me’. These were some of those moments that just make me smile and think he knew how to have a good time and he wouldn’t seem upset about too many things. He would just keep on trucking without any hesitation. I wonder about getting old sometimes and the wisdom that I would be able to spread to others as well. I would certainly use my old friend and mentor Jacob’s will and humor to work my way through any situation. He didn’t seem like he was angry at the world either as I mentioned earlier which is something I’ve learned to take on as an everyday motto. I also learned from him that no matter how many people you deal with in life, the ones that matter will always be closest by you when it matters. He even mentioned in passing that ‘wouldn’t you like to be my son’. He knew very well that he was sort of a father figure towards me and he would protect me. He would talk about how much his family meant to him and he would speak with glee whenever he speak about his kids as well. He’s one of the main people I think about whenever I have a problem at hand and I take his many words of advice to heart. I miss the guy and I know where ever he may he also remembers what he taught me. Thank you buddy, thanks for the memories and the laughs! Till next Time!

Writing prompts #3: What is your favorite work of art? What do you love about it?

Posted on by anele25

The 300 writing prompts so far has given be 2 topics so far which have been thought provoking and made me reflect a bit on my past. This next one I see as a challenge because I am not the kind of person to express my words about art. This piece of art properly called “The Scream” is done by Edvard Munch. I’ve seen this piece of art before and I wanted to talk a bit about it. The reason I first like this piece of art is because it gives off the impression about a person (sex not described or indicated), who is in anguish or who has some sort of anxiety running through them. I can remember growing up or even through my adult years where I wasn’t feeling my best mentally because I was worried about something that was going on in my life or someone had just told me some shocking news that I had a hard time holding in.

I also really enjoy the painting because of the background that is in the painting. The skies are red with a blue and sort of black water. You kind of get the feeling from seeing the painting that if anything the colors provoke something within the viewer. When I see red, I think of blood or romance and in this essence it could be that it brings these two together to bring some sort of chaos where nothing is perfect in the world. I also notice that the red is mixed in with green as well and from my interpretation that can also be a sign of the green nature that is in and around our world. Now, to get into the characters within the painting itself. I notice that something I love about the painting is that the person that is screaming has eyes and his mouth open while the two characters in the back have no role. The two people in the background could be seen as observers who do not pay attention to what is going on around them. In fact, something that has been theorized about this painting is that artists were becoming more expressive during this time. Hence, this is why I make the connection to these two characters not being able to pay attention to what is going on around them. I can see what Munch means by his painting here is that artists have become afraid to express their opinions on social issues or the well-being of artists. Sometime back, I also read that art at this time was changing and was giving way for new artists in the field. It would be like today when artists from pop culture are starting to collaborate on projects such as movies, music, or even tv shows. I think back in those times it would seem almost impossible to bring so many artists together because everyone wants to have an input on what it is they do. One other thing I enjoy and love about this painting is that it paints a clearer picture of what else may be going in the background of this picture.

One article I read is that the person in the picture could be screaming at the horror of the slaughterhouse that is nearby. The main character that we see could be shouting at the horror that is going in during the actual proceeding where they are crossing. It goes back to what I said in the beginning, the main character is somewhat worried as to what is happening around him as he crosses the bridge. The artist also originally meant this to be a piece of how his friends had left him behind and he stopped to gaze at what was the red sky. Yet, he somehow stayed behind and he gazed on in fear. One other thing that needs to be pointed out about this piece of work is how Munch takes apart his work by not clearly explaining what gender the person in the work is. This is one of the parts of the painting because we who are viewing the painting could be in this painting. I sometimes think when we are not feeling our best we could be crying out for help. The sounds that is also covering up inside the main character is quite something to view as well because of how we may want to block out everyone else out. We may do this along these lines because we may cover up our ears with earphones when we are on the bus, airplane, on the train, or at our jobs. The idea of sound is also something that we tend to ignore in our lives because sounds can sometimes tell us something that we may or may not want to hear. When we hear directions, cues, or when we see something on a screen we tend to look for sounds that may trigger a certain emotion. I also feel the sounds when I may be reading a book that I really like.

1200px-The_Scream
The Scream

Once again, this idea of how we take sounds may sound far fetched, but sounds make a profound impact on our lives and it is one of the final reasons I really enjoy this piece. I sometimes wonder what one’s perspective may be about slaughterhouses or being near some sort of thing that they may dislike. For example, I am not the world’s biggest fan of people that are having drinking issues being near a bar.

I can imagine having them resist a drink is something that is difficult for them to resist. Anyway, these are just a few reasons I really love this painting because of the amount of effort that is put into the detail. One thing that I think I forgot to mention is that Munch does a fantastic job of expressing with this painting with the bridge that is covering apart of the painting. This was definitely one of the most difficult pieces to write because of how I had never written about a piece of art but I am happy to get this one in because it felt like I was back in school. I’d be curious to get across what this painting maybe meant for other people back in older times but now I will never get that chance because time travel does not exist. Anyway, this does it for this piece. I will continue on with this 300 writing prompts piece until I can no longer write about the awesome prompts in here. Till next time, signing off!