Sweet and sour
By Aaliyah
“If you want life to be sweet, you have to know what sour tastes like too.”
This quote sticks out to me because I believe it to be truth. I find myself being sweet in the most sour situations because I know what it’s like to feel. I never wish anyone harm or for them to be in the situations I’ve found myself in before. I know what it feels like to not be loved, I know how it feels to be abandoned. I know that feeling of worthlessness. I know how it feels to be at one’s lowest. I’ve been there. So I know that some sweetness is needed, it’s necessary for one’s development, for one’s growth. Everyone is deserving of that. I believe that I’m here to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud, a light shining on one’s darkness.
I also believe that one has to help themselves in sour situations. For me, that’s been a difficult concept to accept. Some days I don’t want to get up and help myself. That’s where another pickle quote comes in: “Life can be hard sometimes. Dill with it.” This quote correlates with the first one as well. Sometimes you have to work with the challenging energy and feel it head on. How will you ever get to experience sweetness in your life without working with the sour? It’s like you get the best of both worlds while learning more about yourself. I believe with enough grit and deliberate practice, you can develop a sense of consciousness and self-awareness with the two pickle quotes.
Peace
By 2
1. all war is propaganda
2. not human nature, no land is honored
3. the monarch isn’t ours
4. unaffected by power
5. all conflicted, distracted by dollars
6. flaws and imperfections
7. I ignore all the questions
8. I don’t believe the illusions
9. don’t fall prey to distractions
10. painting new pictures, make a new pattern
11. they say all the world’s a stage
12. doesn’t mean we’re all actors
These pieces were composed in the writer’s group at YSA’s Tiny House Empowerment Village. This writing group arose out of the belief that everyone has a story to tell, and that telling our stories together furthers a sense of community. Since June, facilitated by Zoe Mosko, the writing group has been meeting at the Village twice a month. Participants sit around and talk, enjoy snacks, write on suggested writing prompts, or free write and share what they’ve written.