Spooky Share

Ben's story was about a boy who unknowingly is captured and trapped in an eerie cellar, with only a few miscellaneous items including a teddy bear whose eyes appear to be cameras indicating that the someone who abducted him is still watching.
Natalie's story is still in the works and involves a girl who in the midst of trying to deal with everyday teen life and stress, such as studying for a test at school, also has a life and death situation in the back of her mind. A mysterious plague has struck her small town and she tries not to panic when she begins to notice some mild symptoms of a cold.
Tori wrote about a lonely girl who lives an ordinary mundane life with her busy parents. They have only been living in their new house for about five years, but after a restless night, the girl awakens to find that they may not be the only inhabitants of their home. (I won't spoil the end, there is a surprise you will not want to miss!)
I very much enjoyed each of these stories, and how they all incorporated suspense and mystery.

Halloween has always been my all time favorite holiday, and I am so sad that it only lasts one day a year and then is forgotten about, unlike Christmas which lasts a whole season. I love dressing up and being with my friends, munching on sweet snacks and getting mildly scared. Tonight, I am dressing up as Cat woman and I adore my costume because it is very comfortable and will keep me warm in the chilling October air! I have two parties to attend and then, despite my age, I am most definitely going trick or treating! It is a timeless tradition that I will continue to participate in as long as I can get away with it!

Hope everyone has a safe, adventurous night!

Halloween Spirits

My favorite Halloween was the time I went trick or treating with a huge group of girl friends freshman year. I dressed up as Strawberry Shortcake and died my hair pink! It was probably my favorite costume so far. We got all dressed up, went trick or treating, then went back to my friend's house to devour our candy and watch a scary movie. We were up all night, I'm still not sure if it was because we were scared or if we were just hyped up on sugar. I had such a fun night that Halloween because I got to bond with my friends and just be silly girls for a while. Another good Halloween was the year after. It was the first year ever I had not been trick or treating, but instead I invited some friends over to watch scary movies and have some yummy snacks. Well, someone got the bright idea to play truth or dare which ended in several unexpected kisses and me doing the cinnamon challenge. I regret it a little bit, but looking back I can laugh at the huge cloud of brown smoke I coughed out while my friends laughed hysterically. Everyone does the challenge once, but never, ever again.  

Write a Halloween poem using the following words:  night

A sparking candy bowl
Away the pumpkins roll
On her broom a witch will crawl
As the wind begins its brawl
The soaring wings of bats crack  
Orange and gold lights turn to black
The calls of tricks or treats
And spooky shadows roam the streets
It's a scary horrific sight 
But it will be alright
It's only children on their plight
To have an adventure on Halloween night

And the Beat Goes On...

Since I was not here for these musical activities, I think I will just share some recent song lyrics I have written.
This song is called "I Will"

People try to figure out how to pass the time
Spending all their time trying to figure out how to pass the time
But did they consider just for a minute
To let go of life so they can finally begin it
I guarantee they'd be satisfied
Looking back I can see I was guilty of
Running in circles till I ran right into your love

I stopped dead in my tracks
One look at you and I'm never looking back
And I promise to give you all that I have

I will wrap my arms around your body and gently squeeze
So we can be tightly bound together and kick back shooting the breeze
I will plant kisses like seeds on your body so in time
Your love for yourself will grow as strong as mine
Because I love you more than you'll ever know
Warmer than the sun and purer than the snow
And I love you more than you'll ever comprehend
You're the middle beginning and end
Of my story

People try to find the way to be husband and wife
They go searching for the secret of how to live a fulfilling life
But did they consider to give it a rest
Life's what you make it so make it the best
And let yourself live with no regrets

You give me a hand when mine are full
When I'm down you give my heart strings a pull
I thought I was wise but for you I'm a fool

I will press my face against your body and bat my eyes
It'll feel silly but that's ok your laugh gives me butterflies
I will press my chest against your body beneath the sheets
And I'll tell you I adore you from your hair down to your two left feet
Because I love you more than words can tell
Higher than the mountain from which I fell
You're my best friend and my lover
You're every page from cover to cover
Of my story

Through sickness and health
Through rich and through poor
I'll be your heaven through hell
I'll be your sun through the storm
Wherever life takes us I'll put you first
You're my better half for better or for worse

I will plant kisses like seeds on your body so in time
You'll fall in love with your body like you taught me to love mine
I will race to you wherever you call
I will pick up the pieces and glue them together like they'd never been broken at all
Because I love you more than the fish love the water
Maybe someday we'll have a son or a daughter
And we'll teach them how to love and how to ride a bike and they'll be
Our story

If music died, the world would die with it...

A song that reminds me of someone I love is Bohemian Rhapsody, because Dane and I always freak out when it comes on in his car and sing along very dramatically. There are a lot of songs like this; although I enjoy singing, he does not, so whenever I start singing he will join in with a ridiculous voice and I can't help but follow along. His silliness is contagious, and it is expressed through music, my favorite thing in the world.
When I am in the car with someone, it is anything but easy to agree on a radio station. My mom likes country, my brother likes pop, my boyfriend likes rap, and I like classic rock, smooth jazz, and musical theatre of course. So no one is ever really happy with the music playing, it is a difficult task to meet in the middle with such opposing genres. Sometimes, if I cannot stand a song that is playing and the person refuses to change it...I will be my little passive self and start singing another song, louder and louder to compete with the radio. When I work out is when I get to listen to what I love: rock. Rock music helps me get pumped up and excited, so it is the perfect way to have some time to myself and kick it into gear.
When I was growing up, the hard core rap was in its first stages of popularity, and some of my friends parents would forbid them to listen to it, or even go to certain social events where the music would be played. I never had any interest in music with heavy drums, screaming, swear words, and references to drugs or sex. It offends me very much that this style is considered music. To each their own, but I believe that music should cleanse the soul, and this profanity and violence incorporated into what young adolescents are jamming out to causes nothing but damage.
Asking me what my favorite song is, is like asking me why the sky is blue: you know, but it's so hard to explain. I really like songs that have special meanings to me; the Lady Gaga songs I danced with my friends to, The Time of My Life was the first song that I slow danced to, For Good the last song I sang to my aunt before she passed away. As far as artists, my interests range from Colbi Caillat and Harry Connick Jr. to Green Day and Journey. I like a wide variety, but what they all have in common is passion for art, and meaningful, relatable lyrics.
I have only been to one concert in my life so far, and it was memorable for me because I went with my mom and brother to see someone we frequently listened to in the car, so it was a neat experience to hear those same songs we blare in the car blaring in an enormous auditorium with hundreds of other fans. I think concerts are special, because of how tangible it all is. Rather than hearing the artist's voice on a recording, you can hear the rich sounds and see the looks on their face so you can understand what the song means to them, you can see the sweat on their brow and how fast their hands dance across their instruments. Also, you get to share all of the love with people around you from all over the world, some you have never seen before and never will again, but you are united in this one beautiful blissful moment by music and adoration for a melody. If I had a time machine, I swear the first thing I would do is go see a Beatle's concert.

Six Word Memoir

Love to live, live to love.

Singing is always the best medicine.

Nine to five for my four. -My mom

No childhood back then, but now. -My nana

Anything but boring I will be.

Everyone left me behind, except you.

Window Poem

Straight ahead I see green
Then I know there must be a low deck beneath the olive canopy with a comfy chair and a smoky, musky smell awaiting us
But now I sense the presence of someone new, a flash of red catches my eye
The first cardinal has arrived at the bird feeders
I always know it is autumn when the cardinals come to peck at the seed, with their brilliantly bright breasts
Now that the red bird has shown himself, I notice the clarity of the sky, peeking through the leaves at us, and the breeze gently swaying the branches so they look like they are dancing
If I could see beyond the great trees I would smile in hopes of seeing our children running through yard, filling it to the brim with innocence, laughter, and discovery
But it is all my imagination, sparked by the wondrous green through your window
And it is only you and I, alone together in the sweet silence of the afternoon
And that is enough for now, and always

My favorite quotes of all time

"Be the change you want to see in the world," -Mahatma Gandhi

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." -Martin Luther King Jr.

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." -Albert Einstein

(Marilyn is my favorite....)

 

"There are all kinds of love in this world, but never the same love twice." -The Great Gatsby

 

"I walk slowly, but I never walk backward," -Abraham Lincoln

 

"Believe you can and you're half way there." -Theodore Roosevelt

 

"It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn't." -Martin van Buren

 

"It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." -Harry S. Truman

 

"I think everybody is weird. We should all celebrate our individuality and not be embarrassed or ashamed of it." -Johnny Depp

(He is so beautiful...)

"Laugh as much as you breathe, love as long as you live." -Johnny Depp

(...and kind of a hippie)

Blackout Poem

Are you going to think you're released after time alone
It's not a gift it's a chance
You are not kept by law
But the law is within yourself

If you think about this too much, it really makes no sense...
But if you just read it, it might sound kind of dark and mysterious...
I don't know, interpret it for yourself.

Artist Profile: Autumn is Alive



Autumn is alive
Every fiber of its being, every twig, every nook and cranny, every drop of water is coherent, deeply inhaling the vibrancy of it all and warmly exhaling with a caressing passion in an easy, undeniably sweet and addictive rhythm
Autumn is alive
The trees reaching and stretching their creaky branches higher than they ever thought they could
Aspiring to taste even a hint of the bluest, dreamiest sky they have ever witnessed
Autumn is alive
The leaves playfully tugging away at their stems, yearning to dance through the air as they float to the ground, laughing and twirling, trailing and sailing, landing gracefully to their silent slumber
Autumn is alive
Summer's greenest grass gradually growing grayer and groggy, all the hues in the world fading to inviting, cozy undertones of thick, glossy gold
As if mother nature smoothly dimmed the lights to set the calm, romantic mood, and hush the earth
Autumn is alive
Autumn is often accused to be a funeral, a final, sorrowful goodbye to the sun in preparation for winter, frostbite, and death, the end
But the glorious truth is held within the breath taking colors of each tiny, crispy, wispy leaf
Autumn is a celebration of life itself, the meaning of liveliness, teaching us to take nothing for granted, because there is utter beauty in absolutely everything
Autumn is alive
Autumn is affection and cinnamon, seeping with love and understanding, finding its majestic way right down to what makes you hum and tic, filling your soul to the brim with softness, embracing you with spices and a blanket of colors you never knew existed
Autumn is alive
Autumn is delicate and delightful, delicious and deep
It gently lulls the world into a certain unexplainable tenderness and endearment and ambition
An uplifting roaring spirit of anticipation for the unknown, a curiosity of the wonder and mystery of the season
Autumn can send your heart on a high speed chase and the brightest smile crawling across your face
It empties your mind of junk and worries, fears and hesitation, it wipes your slate clean of pain, grief, anger, confusion, doubt
Autumn is alive
It generously embellishes your well deserved stomach with sizzling ciders that cast away the brisk air
The friendly fragrance of fine, fluffy, freshly baked bread twitches your nose and engulfs your childlike desires for mother's home cooked meals, drawing you near the blazing oven
Autumn awakens and arouses each and every one of the senses
Autumn is alive
This is the magic, the faith and belief in what you cannot see, but what you feel so surely, it rattles your bones and pulses through your veins
Letting it overwhelm, overcome, surround you
Surrendering to what lies within you
It is life, and autumn is calling for you to take its hand and begin to live it
Really, fully, extensively, happily, joyfully, abundantly live it
You are alive
Autumn is alive

Hopper Painting Inspired Piece

This picture of tree tops made me think of when I was a little girl playing outside in my grandparents' backyard. The trees in this painting are nearly identical to the view I vividly remember from my childhood of looking up during the fall. When I was younger, everything seemed much bigger, broader, taller, more curious and magical. This piece of art perfectly depicts that wonder I had looking up at those trees that seemed to touch the clouds. They had a swing set for my brother and me and each of us would try to swing higher than the other, and that's when I would look up at the colorful autumn branches the most. There were two enormous trees and one smaller one, which we would climb up nearly everyday and brag about our bravery, even though it isn't much taller than I am now. In my nana and papa's backyard is where our stories and games came to life; we would chase each other, use sticks as guns, swords, wands, animals, you name it. My brother and I were very imaginative back then, and we still are. Now when I go out back at their house, the swings are much lower, the trees are much shorter, the steps to the deck aren't as steep, the holes in the fence aren't as large, and our favorite climbing tree is dying...but the wondrous, playful, carefree memories of just a decade ago still live vibrantly in my mind and heart. I'm so glad I got a glimpse of my past again, just by looking at that simple picture of tree tops.

Pillow Talk

I have a lot of trouble going to sleep at night. I always have a million things zooming through my mind right as soon as I hit the pillow. I will be exhausted, so I turn out the light and close my eyes, and just like someone flipped a switch I am wide awake again, pondering the most random things. Last night for instance, I had a long, sweaty, five hour rehearsal. I was too tired to even get in the shower, I just headed straight for the bed. As soon as I was all settled though, I couldn't stop thinking about what to get my boyfriend for Christmas. How ridiculous is that?! So I hopped on my phone-big mistake-and I started texting him to get my mind off of it, but then I got on Google to look up ideas...and then cute wedding proposal stories...and then wedding dresses...and it just went down hill from there. It's not always like this, where I just succumb to my racing thoughts, but sometimes I'm actually stuck on some really deep things; like if I've had an argument with someone, I try to think of ways it could have gone differently. Some nights I just lay there and think of every embarrassing thing I have done and I sink deeper and deeper into my mattress in utter disbelief that I actually did these things that no one else probably even remembers, but I do. I lay there and wonder who else is still awake that I could talk to about this problem. I try to listen to music but that just makes me want to sing and write my own music. If I eat or drink anything that just keeps me up even longer. This pattern results in either an exhausted regretful Kayla the next morning, or I oversleep to the point of no return. Last Monday for instance, I was a rock, my mom could not wake me up and I ended up sleeping till 2 pm!!! I was so upset with myself! I have never slept that long before! I think it might have something to do with my heavy rehearsal schedule as well, but most times, I just cannot sleep. Although, when I am with Dane, I could fall asleep at the drop of a hat. In fact, on our very first date, we went to see this movie with a big group of friends. It wasn't just that I was tired, the movie was just really bad and boring...so we ended up holding hands, and before I knew it I had fallen fast asleep on his shoulder. I woke up and he was so surprised that I was sleeping-he thought I was snuggling with him! Ha! At least I know that if we do end up married one day, that my insomnia may finally cease for good.

Bright Future

I was not present for the presentation on Monday because around this time of year is when I really have to discipline myself to not oversleep no matter how much I'm longing to stay all snuggled up in my warm fluffy blankets...but alas, Monday I overslept right through my obnoxious alarm clock. I have no good excuse other than I occasionally struggle with insomnia, and I am addicted to my pillows. Therefore, my question about the presentation is what it was about?! I've heard people discussing that it was about an art institute, and I would like to know where as well as what kind of art is studied there?
As far as my own future goes...
In a year I see myself in college, studying theatre at Drury, still with my outrageously handsome and sweet boyfriend who will be hopefully finally deciding what he's going to do with his beautiful life. A year is not very hard to foresee and imagine and dream about, I know what I want to be doing and where and why. Ten years though? At twenty-seven years old I do not have the slightest clue where I will be living, but I would hope to have been married at least five years. I wouldn't have any children yet, but would have beginning a family on my mind and heart. I would hope to be graduated, of course, and continuing on with my party/wedding/event planning business and still engaging in some theatrical arts every now and again. I want to have traveled out of the country by then, to Ireland or France. I do not want to move very far away from my family, though.
Ten years seems so very distant from me at my young age of seventeen, but fifty years? Holy cow! First of all, I hope I am blessed enough to live that long. My nana is still kicking at 74 and doesn't look a day over 60, so fingers crossed that she passed some of those genes down to me. I'm not sure exactly what I want my life to look like in fifty years, I'm not sure I would even want to know what it would look like I want it to be adventurous and full of surprises! I do want to be able to look back at the things I've done with no regrets, I want to reminisce with a smile, and I want to be with someone forever, someone to grow old with and sit on a rocking chair on a front porch with me and drink coffee and read the paper...growing old together is something to be cherished between spouses, I think. I'm certainly not looking forward to growing old, being young is blissful; but since I'm inevitably going to arrive at 67 years old someday, I hope I still have a man right beside me to tell me how good I still look!