DescriptionA short story that is deep exploration of life, its routines, and our place in the world.
MessageInside the Mind contains content some may find triggering. Reader discretion is advised.
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Vignette 1 - Names

The story behind someone's name can be just as unique as the person themself. They can be sweet, kind, menacing, or meaningful. A name can be as simple as Joe or as confusing as if it seems to contain the entire alphabet. But mine is not so intriguing.I dwell on the meaning of it; I wonder what its purpose is. It is such an easy yet interesting name. It sounds as if it were picked just for being simple. But, how has my name defined who I am?Optimistic and caring, while being driven and realistic. Kind and compassionate, while being cynical at heart. My name doesn’t come with a bang, but lacks a whimper.When you hear it, I am instantly noticeable, but years from now, I am only a distant and forgotten memory. I keep myself insignificant to others, while still making a large impact.And names are just that, important, while worthless.

Vignette 2 - The Reality of Dreaming

I’m standing in the halls. Words all around me, whispers, shouts, gossip. People chant “Hey you!” and “We love you!” And I stood proud and tall in the middle of it all. Popularity isn’t usually my thing, but this was everything I wanted.It was like the ocean, with waves of hands clapping and cheering me on. Nothing could ever describe this experience; it felt unreal. I was royalty, I was amazing, I was something.But this facade soon fell apart. I left my dream, that fantasy world, and came into a more realistic life. Around me were people, but instead of praise, there was insult; instead of pride, there was embarrassment. No longer was I royalty, no longer was I loved.Standing in the same halls, I was being shunned. Something bad happened, and what it was, I’m not sure. Did I do something wrong? Is it me? What happened?But I never got an answer.Yet again, I woke up. This time I was in my bedroom: safe. There was no screaming, no praising, no hate; just me, by myself in a dark room. That was it.They were just dreams, just figures of my imagination. None of it was real. It was a dream in a dream, a representation of my place in the world.It was my life in a bottle.

Vignette 3 - Daily Life

I wake up, eyes open, ready for the day. My phone sits still on the table beside me like a dog begging for food, waiting for someone to use it. So I grab it, it unlocks, and get to viewing the Godforsaken world we live in.Scrolling through my feed, different headlines show themselves, different points of views graze my eyes. The news is screaming “WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE” and “10 WAYS YOU'RE WRONG ABOUT ____." Then I see what celebrities have posted, staring at waves of Photoshopped and faked pictures of fun and exciting adventures.None of it is real, none of it is reality. It is all there to interest me, to engage me; nothing else.But eventually, I walk out, and look at my humble little home. It's peaceful, it’s a break. But I soon start eating, then do some talking to my family, and finally change and brush my teeth.  Then I walk out to the massive yellow machine that delivers me to school daily.It never changes, it never does. My day in, day out, stays the same. And as long as I can expect the world to do the same routine every day, I will follow it.That's my life.

Vignette 4 - School

Every day I stumble into one building, one place: school. It is where I learn, where I grow, where I spend my weekdays.It's not fun, it's not unfun, it’s just my good old friend, school. Some days are positive, while some are negative. But one thing is for sure: it's consistent. A day can be as blank as a piece of paper or as colorful as fine art, but it is still constantly school. Unlike repetition, it can change daily, but the fundamentals are still there. I have my classes, ranging from Math to English, from History to Science, but it is all just memorization.It's not boring, as I am really just expected to remember the day before, but there is no joy to be had within it.And there is no deeper meaning to it, to any of it. School is to be taken at face value, and as I have learned in life, almost everything is at face value.I go to learn, and that's it. I go to learn, and that's it.

Vignette 5 - Neighborhood

I grew up in a very different place from where I live now. It was somewhere far away; a fantasy land of fun and memories. And nothing could ever replace it. My life here, now, is just not as adventurous as it was; it's not as discovering as it was. I now just sit alone, in a house, a long way away from my past. It was a neighborhood, a community with many people, kids, and friends. My siblings played for hours with them: in the silent streets, in the luscious yards, in each other's houses, and I was always there to tag along on their journey.We were young, naive, and fascinated by the world around us like a newborn child. We had forts, played tag, and involved ourselves in many great children's games. We’d stare at a squirrel running by, or listen to the chirp-chirp of birds flying high above us. Together as a group, as a neighborhood, we did a great deal of things. Our lives were shared, we grew up together. But life now is not the same.As everyone grew up, including myself, we began to separate; we began to do other things, have other friends, be with other people.But I grew up happy, I had my innocence. I had my time as a child. And now, I sit in my home, reminiscing on that experience.The neighborhood was my childhood.

Vignette 6 - Brothers

My brothers can be such a mystery to me. I only have male siblings, so as you can expect, there’s not much diversity. But I love them, and they love me.We have fought, we have squabbled, we have bickered, and more. Yet we still seem to stay strong, and we’re always with each other, like being stuck together with glue. I’m a fairly antisocial guy, a fairly closed person, but my brothers are always there for me; they are my best friends. And without a doubt, we’ll always be at each other's side, with one another, even through difficult times.We are like the Holy Trinity of siblings: one of us being the more sporadic and comedic, one of us being creative and “cool," and me being there to balance it out with occasional intellect and a serious tone. We are the pieces of our own puzzle.Like I said before, no matter what, we are there for each other. My siblings and I are like a school of fish: a small, tight-knit group of people.And I am so fortunate that I have them.

Vignette 7 - Man

Society. Civilization. Country. Nation. These are all words to describe what we are, where we come from.We live in a world of unity; yet, we fight. We live in a world of peace, yet we wage conflicts with each other every day. We are animals.Mankind has done a great many things, though has been the cause of some of the worst tragedies on our planet. And where do I play in all of this, my puny life sitting in the midst of it all? Where do any of us lay in all of this? Are we the reason?The answer is yes, and no. Humans work in groups, and we can do more together than apart. Even destruction.I fight for myself, my beliefs, and you do the same. We form alliances, we bond over similarities, and squabble about our differences. Man has done this for centuries, and plans to do it for many more. We are all just pawns in the game of man.