I believe English may be one of the most difficult languages to learn since there are so many words that look or sound the same, but mean completely different things.
There are words with multiple definitions that are different as well.
Some examples:
Apparent
This word can mean that something is
easy to see or understand, or
a quality, feeling, or situation that seems to exist but is not real
Most people use the first definition and not the second one.
Incredible
This word means that something is impossible or difficult to understand
People use this word as something that is really great
Sensational
This word means
something that is exciting or surprising
a way of describing something that makes it seem more exciting than it really is
Most people use the first definition and not the second one.
I was just thinking of words today and was thinking about the uses of these three words. There are many more out there. I am going to try and use these words this weekend in the real/less used manners.
28. On the shelf - The shelf here is my balcony. On this night, I heard a large truck slowly trod ding down the street and decided to look out the window and see what was going on. Turned out it was a fire truck and one of the fire fighters was removing the hose and taking it to the back of my apartment. I go to the balcony to get a better view and it turns out someone has set the dumpster on fire. The top photo is of two fire fighters trying to douse the flame with the hose. It took them about 8 minutes to finish putting out the fire. I assume it was some hot coals or some type of cigarette butt or something. Or maybe just the incessant heat that we have been having in St. Louis.
29. Soft - I am getting soft in my older age. I have been having injuries like my back, my neck, my knees have started to ache... the list seems to go on. Newest pain is in my elbow. I know this photo is similar to one from last week's photos, but it is really irking me that I am getting so soft. Now, not only am I dealing with this pain, I also am having to deal with the tape the doctor uses on me tearing off my skin when I remove the tape. Perhaps you can see the peeling skin above and below the brace in the above photo. After taking the tape off, the arm not only hurt from regular pains that I have almost become accustomed to, but also from the deep tissue stimulation the doctor says will dislodge any scar tissue, and from the tenderness from the layers of skin being missing from my arm. I used to be able to tolerate more pain. I used to believe that my possession of ovaries made me a stronger person - after all, we have babies and periods and cramps. Perhaps, my ovaries just aren't enough anymore.
30. A friend - For my best bud/boo, I have been making lunch each day (or buying it) and meeting him for 30 minutes of us time. It is always nice to see each other. Here was what I used on this day: Ham sandwich with provolone, watermelon, honeydew melon, oatmeal cream pie, and swiss rolls.
For this holiday, I take you back to my thoughts from 2008. Here is some content from the original blog post: The 4th of July is Yours, Not Mine. Unfortunately, my sentiments still ring true today, four years later. Only thing I can add is that you should be careful with the fireworks in all the places that have been super hot and dry of late. Only change to my writing is the video at the end, the original is no longer available, so the one I added today has no commentary and no additional song - though, it is still the shiznit, though!
Since I was a kid and started reading about the history of this country (on my own of course, since the schools didn't teach the truth -- just the apple pies, George Washington, Lincoln BS) I have not really been down with celebrating July 4 as any sort of independence day.
There are too many groups in this nation that are not free, too many people who continue to struggle due to the incredible injustices perpetuated by the government (national, local, and state).
I love these words by Langston Hughes and Frederick Douglass.
Douglass' words can STILL apply to basically any minority group in this nation (not just ethnic minorities, either -- sexual, economic (though the poor are the majority), displaced, etc). This comes from a speech he gave 5 July 1852. It was an event commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
"This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn." And he asked them, "Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak to-day?"
What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sound of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants brass fronted impudence; your shout of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanks-givings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy -- a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour.
Two pieces from Langston Hughes, the first from 1938:
Let America be America again. Let it be the dream it used to be. Let it be the pioneer on the plain Seeking a home where he himself is free.
(America never was America to me.)
Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed-- Let it be that great strong land of love Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme That any man be crushed by one above.
(It never was America to me.)
O, let my land be a land where Liberty Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe.
(There's never been equality for me, Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")
Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark? And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?
I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek-- And finding only the same old stupid plan Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.
I am the young man, full of strength and hope, Tangled in that ancient endless chain Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land! Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need! Of work the men! Of take the pay! Of owning everything for one's own greed!
I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil. I am the worker sold to the machine. I am the Negro, servant to you all. I am the people, humble, hungry, mean-- Hungry yet today despite the dream. Beaten yet today--O, Pioneers! I am the man who never got ahead, The poorest worker bartered through the years.
Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream In the Old World while still a serf of kings, Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true, That even yet its mighty daring sings In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned That's made America the land it has become. O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas In search of what I meant to be my home-- For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's shore, And Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea, And torn from Black Africa's strand I came To build a "homeland of the free."
The free?
Who said the free? Not me? Surely not me? The millions on relief today? The millions shot down when we strike? The millions who have nothing for our pay? For all the dreams we've dreamed And all the songs we've sung And all the hopes we've held And all the flags we've hung, The millions who have nothing for our pay-- Except the dream that's almost dead today.
O, let America be America again-- The land that never has been yet-- And yet must be--the land where every man is free. The land that's mine--the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME-- Who made America, Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain, Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain, Must bring back our mighty dream again.
Sure, call me any ugly name you choose-- The steel of freedom does not stain. From those who live like leeches on the people's lives, We must take back our land again, America!
O, yes, I say it plain, America never was America to me, And yet I swear this oath-- America will be!
Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death, The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies, We, the people, must redeem The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers. The mountains and the endless plain-- All, all the stretch of these great green states-- And make America again!
This poem was written by Hughes in 1925:
I, Too, Sing America
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.
Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed --
I, too, am America.
Be careful with the fireworks and explosive devises -- don't blow your hands off. Have a sober driver. Don't eat so much that you have to undo the button on your pants.
Be safe.
Try to think about what this day really means for all the people in this nation.
Remember that everyone is not free.
I leave you with possibly the most awesome version of this country's anthem EVER! Along with another great little song after the anthem. I love the commentary in the beginning and the end.
As I finished up six full months of writing every day, I am reflecting on this process.
It amazes me that I have been able to do this for this long. It amazes me that I have not gotten tired of doing it.
It amazes me that it has become a regular part of my day. My day does not seem finished unless I have posted on this blog. Perhaps that is good, or perhaps it is pathetic - I'm not quite sure which one.
I am not sure if I have become better at writing. I think I have become better at creating a topic to write about for the day.
I would like to find more regular topics for days. I was doing the photo-a-day each Wednesday in June and I have been doing Stream of Conscious posts each Sunday. Not sure if I will continue either in July - SOC is no longer going to be hosted by Fadra, but I may still do it as a release on Sundays.
Here are the top ten most popular posts on my blog since January:
10. Short List of Things That Make Me Happy - Just a list.
9. Why Do We Trust & Distrust So Easily? - Why do we live in a society where we are overcautious about things that we don't need to be and distrustful in areas of our lives where we don't necessarily need to be? Do we really need to have playgrounds with rubber floors?
8. I Teach. What's Your Superpower - It's as simple as the title.
7. Aftermath of a Young Wedding - This story still makes me laugh just thinking about it. My family and like-family kill me! And the picture is just adorable.
6. I Tried Excessive Complaining Again - I am still on a mission to not complain a lot. It is working, though I do have occasional slips where I complain without having a way to fix the thing I am complaining about. But, I have come to dislike being around people who complain a lot.
5. Wordless Wednesday: Bras - People always find this post by searching for breasts, or bras, or boobs, or for the image I included. 4. Even Niecy Has Never Seen Such Foolishness - All of the hoarders shows basically came after "Clean House" with Niecy Nash. This post is about one of the most disgusting homes I have seen.
3. LyzaDora the Artist is Amazing in So Many Ways - Sometimes we wish we could tell our younger selves what we will become in the future. LyzaDora is an amazing person for many reasons and it touched me to hear that she wasn't always as confident as she seems to be now. While in Houston last week we reminded ourselves that we have known each other for around 24 years - WOW!!
2. After All My Logic And My Theory, I Add A... - Some writer said that St. Louis, Missouri was on par with cities like Mogadishu, and Caracas, and Pakistani cities when it comes to the dangerousness of an area. I tried to eloquently dispute the author's claim.
1. Possibly the Worst Invention Ever - Wrote about the uselessness of toilet rolls that do not rotate in a full circle. It seems people are always searching for the image I added to this post or else looking for the worst invention.
Perhaps you have already read these, or perhaps you can read them now.
Will I be able to do this for another six months?
Each day I'm not sure if I will follow through with the urge to post, but I have so far for six months. Somehow, I keep going.
I've done it a few times. Not completely, but a little bit.
When I went off to college, I got to be different - an individual separated from my siblings and from the impressions I left in hs. When I moved into an apartment outside of the dorms it was a new reinvention. When I started teaching in Columbia I was a totally different person than I had been before. I had friends like I had never had before and did things (in my after school life) that I had never imagined doing and it was all a blast. When I started teaching in Saint Louis it was a small change. I had new colleagues that were great. I had a boyfriend that helped me grow and see and do things differently. Eventually, I cut off all of my long, straight hair and went natural and short. When I moved to another district I made more changes. I started using my first name on official papers. I dressed more professionally everyday to work. People had never known me with long hair and I went even shorter - completely shaven. I moved to a different division of the school and it was even more of a chance for me to be seen differently. I have reinvented myself in small ways with my family and friends.
These are just a few of the times I have reinvented myself.
I think that reinvention comes in different forms. The obvious are related to appearance. Some others are related to a change in mindset. For me a change in mindset comes from a change of scenery, from a change in perspective, from a change in life associates, from the different jolts life gives me.
Honestly, I feel like I am overdo for a major jolt in my life - a new reinvention.
This was the last Stream of Consciousness Sunday that Fadra is hosting. I thank her for this and am glad I found it during my quest to find topics to write each day. I think that the freedom to just write on Sunday has been a great release and has really made me think about different things in my life. Most of the time, I have written based on her prompts which are often thought provoking.
I think I will continue to do this sort of writing to help me just do brain dumps on Sundays.
You can see the link up on Fadra's site to read more of people's five minute stream of consciousness musings. Today's writing prompt: What does it mean to reinvent yourself?
