Redhead and Proud: a Fantastical Adventure

Here is a short story I wrote for a scholarship for redheads:


     Charlie Flynn has never been the kind of person to say no to an adventure. Especially not when the adventure is presented by the Good Wizard of Hobsbury, Charlie's home village.
     The truth is that Charlie Flynn is not your average kind of guy to begin with. It goes without saying that average people do not go on fantastical adventures, but, more than that, Charlie Flynn is a Gingeley, a fact about him that he himself despises.
     It is commonly known that the Normskies (the all-powerful clan of black-haired, dark-skinned, rather temperamental and average persons) will look upon the Gingeleys with disdain. Sometimes, younger Norsmskies taunt the Gingeleys, calling them names or pointing and laughing when they walk past. Charlie himself has experienced this on numerous occasions, and often wishes he could be a Normsky, and not a Gingeley.
     One sunny day Charlie was walking along the path that runs from one end of Hobsbury to the other end (and it goes around some, too), when he found the Good Wizard sitting on a bench beside the path.
     "May I join you?" Asked Charlie.
     "Ah, Charlie! Just the guy I was looking for! Yes, by all means, take a seat! What a fine day, isn't it?"
     "Yes indeed. You said you were looking for me?"
     The Good Wizard turned and smiled (at least, Charlie thought it was a smile; the wizard's mouth was hidden beneath a thick, white beard). "Of course," he said."Would you be interested in an adventure?"
     "An adventure? Oh, it has been quite a while since my last one."
     "Has it? I trust your adventuring skills are not lacking?"
     “No, sir. Sharp as the day I last used them!"
     "Good. Expect a visitor within the next week." And with that, the Good Wizard of Hobsbury got up, shook Charlie's hand, and left the other sitting on the bench.
     As the Good Wizard had promised, three days later (on the Thursday of that week) Charlie heard a knock at the door. What he found when he opened the door of his home was a girl standing there, dressed in a simple blue dress, with a bow slung on her back, a quiver at her side, and in her hands a small knapsack. But it was her hair that struck him the most. His own red hair paled in comparison to her vibrant red curls that draped over her shoulders. She didn't even appear to be hiding it, as he so often did.
     “Hello Charlie,” she said with a confident smile. “May I come in?”
     “Uh, yes, of course,” he said and gestured for her to come in. “I haven’t seen you before. I guess you’re not from Hobsbury?”
     “No, no. I’m from a ways away. The Good Wizard sent for me to take you along on a little adventure.”
     Charlie was taken aback by her radiating confidence, but went to the kitchen to get her a glass of his favorite lemon-mint water, chilled. She gulped it down and sighed contently. “Now,” she said, “are you ready to go?”
     “Yes, I’ll just grab my adventuring bag.”
     “No need, where we are going we don’t need anything.”
     “Oh, okay.” As they left, he made sure everything was in order. He noticed that the girl had left her own gear on a chair in the hall. That was when he realized he hadn’t even bothered to ask for her name. When he asked, she said, “the name my parents gave me is Merida, but just call me Mer.”
     The two left his home and started walking along the path of Hobsbury. They walked in silence, each keeping to themselves. A ways down the path, some Normskies were playing a game. They stopped when they saw the two Gingeleys walking by. One of the Normskies started yelling out names, and the others followed suit. Charlie, embarrassed, turned away and tried to walk faster. But Mer only smiled and if anything, slowed down so that the Normskies could understand that she did not mind their taunting in the slightest.
     When they were far enough away from the Normskies, Charlie couldn’t help asking her why the Normskies’ taunting did not bother her. “Why should it?” she replied.
     Charlie knew better than to answer the question. They walked on for quite a while longer, and only stopped when they got to the edge of Hobsbury. “We’re not going past this, are we?” Charlie asked, never having been outside of his town.
     “Of course we are,” said Mer. And so they did.
     Although Charlie had been on fantastical adventures before, they had never really taken him very far from Hobsbury, and frankly, he didn’t know much of what lay beyond it. After about half an hour of walking, Charlie began to regret not having at least taken a waterskin with him, but he did not say this to Mer, afraid of seeming completely uncourageous. Instead, he asked, “so what kind of adventure exactly are we going on?”
     “Well,” said Merida, “perhaps calling it an adventure is a little much, but the Good Wizard has something planned for you You’ll find out in just a couple of minutes, don’t worry.”
     She was right. Within another ten minutes, the two arrived at another path, almost identical, if not identical, to the path found in Hobsbury. A little while later they saw some Normskies playing in a field. At least, that’s what they looked like. But when Charlie and Mer got closer, Charlie realized they weren’t the same kind of Normskies as the ones in Hobsbury. These ones, when they saw the two Gingeleys, smiled and waved. A tall, handsome Normsky walked over to say hello and give Mer a hug. Charlie couldn’t believe his eyes and ears; they weren't being taunted!
     This was true even when they got to the town. Normskies and Gingeleys alike were going about their business. Mer guided him to a small cottage. She knocked on the door, and a voice replied “come in”. The two complied. The inside of the cottage was dark and musky. An old lady stood around a cauldron mixing something, it smelled like soup. “Ah, Mer! How great to see you! And I see you have brought a friend?”
     “Yes, Sage, this is Charlie from Hobsbury. But listen, Good Wizard has requested a potion. Do you have it ready yet? And the other thing he asked for?”
     “Yes, yes, I have it all ready. But won’t you two stay a while and taste my soup?”
     “I’m afraid we don’t have much time, the day will come to an end soon enough.”
     The old lady sighed and went to grab two little bottles. She gave one to Mer and said “this one first” and only then did she give her the other. Mer thanked her and turned to leave. As they were walking out the door, she shouted after Charlie, something about being wise.
     “What now?” Charlie asked.
     “Now we go back.”
     “You mean, that’s the end of the adventure?”
     “Not quite. You want to be a Normsky, don’t you?”
     “How did you know?”
     “The Good Wizard. He knows a lot, more than you might think. So, do you?” She was genuinely intrigued, as she didn’t understand why anyone would want to trade being a Gingely for anything else.
     “Yeah, I just want to be normal.”
     By now they had reached the edge of the path, and were headed back towards Hobsbury. Mer took out the first of the two bottles and told him to drink it. “This potion will make you a Normsky. I won’t come back with you at the moment, because I need to take care of something else, but I’ll be back soon enough. Enjoy being a Normsky, Charlie.”
     And with that, the red-headed beauty turned and walked back the way they had come. Charlie looked at the potion in his hand and smiled. Finally he would be able to fit in! He uncorked the bottle and gulped the potion down. It tasted so... bland. Charlie waited, and waited, but did not feel any different. Disappointed, he decided to just go back home, the potion hadn’t worked.
     Along the way, he passed the Normskies playing in the field once again. In an attempt to avoid the usual taunting, he sped up and tried to go unnoticed. He failed to do the latter, however, and the Normskies soon came over to him. But instead of laughing at him, one of the Norsmkies invited him to come play. It was then that Charlie realized that the potion did work! Excited, he joined them for the game.
     For the next couple of hours, as the sky slowly began to change colors, he enjoyed playing with the Normskies and cracking jokes with them. Just as dusk was starting to set in, Charlie noticed Mer walking back along the path. The other Normskies noticed too, and they began to laugh and call her names. Charlie, anxious to fit in with his new friends, started yelling out names too, even though he felt terrible about it. Mer kept walking, but Charlie noticed a tear sliding down her cheek. So she was not immune to everything.
     That evening, as the group split up, Charlie made his way home. For the first time since taking the potion, he saw himself in a mirror. He was the same, except for his hair, which was now jet black. It was not what Charlie expected. “My hair looks foreign,” he said out loud.
     “Yes, it does,” a voice said. Charlie turned around to find Mer standing in the hallway. “So, how did it feel to finally be a Normsky?”
     “It was not quite what I thought it would be like. I thought I would feel normal. But I still felt like a stranger, especially when we laughed at you. I’m sorry, I don’t know why I did it.” He suddenly felt really sad that he had lost his red hair.
     “We never realize what it is that we have until it is gone, do we?” Mer sighed. “Charlie, when I was a young girl, I turned my mother into a bear because I wanted her to stop being so controlling. After I realized what it was that I had done, I frantically tried to fix my mistake. In the end, I managed to stop my dad from almost hunting her down and reverse the spell I had inadvertently put on her. I did a terrible, terrible thing, but it has taught me to appreciate and be proud of what I have, my family, my talents, my hair.”
     Charlie, heavy with dispair, slumped into a chair. “What have I done?”
     “You did exactly what I did. You wanted to be normal, as so many people do. Now that you are, you miss being different; special. Red hair is something to be proud of, Charlie, and those that taunt it only do so because they see you as an easy target.”
     “You are right. But how can I get it back?”
     “Well, lucky for you, the Good Wizard and I thought this might happen and so made sure we would have the counterpotion ready.” That was when she took out the second bottle.
     “This will give me my hair back?”
     “Yes, it will. You will still be able to hang out with the Normskies. Remember what it was like when we went to the other town earlier today?”
     “How can I ever thank you?”
     “Don’t bother. Here, drink up.” So he did. This potion did not taste quite so bland, in fact, it was different, tangy but sweet. He did not at once feel different, but when he looked at himself in the mirror, he saw Charlie looking back, red hair, freckles, and all. He smiled, as did Mer.
     “I am different, and that’s okay!”

Say Anything

"If I could say anything anything what would it be? A good question for our destined reality... If you could go anywhere anywhere where would you see? Take a step in any direction, it's make believe" -- Say Anything by Tristan Prettyman

Is it all make believe? Tristan Prettyman doesn't seem to think so; she says it's all destined, all preordained. But what if it is all make believe? Not that that would be a bad thing. On the contrary, it would hold that we have the freedom to come up with our own stories, our own paths, our own fairy tales. You can step in any direction, but you can't step in all directions. That's why everyone is so different; we are nothing but a result of our choices and other's people's choices. 

I say that other people affect us also because sometimes the actions of others collide with our own. Like wheels we roll around an empty land, we twist and turn, sometimes we topple over, and sometimes we bump into other wheels,  our paths overlapping. As a result, we do not always get the outcomes that we desire. Take a water polo match (or any other team sport); one person cannot win a game, but seven people together can. If all team members are "rolling" (if we continue with the wheel analogy) along the same path- that is, they are well-conditioned and mentally focused- then the chances of winning go up. Keep in mind that winning is not guaranteed, because sometimes the opposing team is just a little bit more conditioned or mentally focused. Even though I have a lot more to say about this, I think that's enough for now.

On another note, I hope you had a wonderful day. If not, please keep reading :)

 

Love. Someone loves you. Many people love you. You may not see it, you may not even realize it, but it's true. I love you for being you, as do your parents, any siblings, your neighbors, friends and all of those cousins of yours. But do you love yourself? That's the real question here. As far as body image goes... No one is perfect, sorry if that is news to you. But if you can love your imperfect (healthy) self, then you are one step closer to contentment. But please, for your own sake as a human being, be healthy. Being stick-skinny or marshmallow-fat is not only not beautiful, but also incredibly detrimental to your overall health, which is important for a happy lifestyle. 

So remember, somebody loves you, you are never alone. Smile, be happy, for today, you are you and nobody can take that away from you.

Music

Lately I've been obsessed with music. Maybe not quite obsessed, but I find that music is another outlet for me; another way to let go of certain emotions and be able to express myself. For me, the best songs are not only catchy, but also thoughtful. That is, the lyrics are poetic and share something meaningful.

Here just a couple of my favorites:

I Lived- One Republic

Castle of Glass- Linkin Park

Restless Heart- Matt Hires

JOY- Ellie Goulding

Get Up Get Down- Phillip Phillips

Note: it's perfectly okay if you don't like my music choices, but if you do like them, you can follow my playlist "everything wonderful" on Spotify...

ranting into space

What was left of the string is now unraveling, unwinding, getting tangled in itself.

Sometimes I don't know what to do. My eyes tend to remain dry, but that doesn't mean my soul inside is not tormented with every step, every breath. Well, that's not entirely true; I am a happy person the majority of the time. I smile I lot. I laugh a lot more. I love life.

But sometimes it feels like nothing else could go wrong.

Then I try to remember where I'll be in eight months from now. That's pretty consoling.

Unfortunately I can't keep telling myself that. When I was in middle school, I told myself high school would be much better. When I got to high school, I found that the differences were small and few; the size of the school was larger and the immaturity even more prominent. Now, a senior in high school, I tell myself that college will be better. Will it? Sometimes I'm not so sure. What about after college? Will I be able to travel? Will I get married? Will I have a family? Will I be published?

Most girls my age have dated at this point in their lives. Why is it that I haven't? Why can't I even find a guy friend who wants to go to a school dance with me? And prom? I want to go, but I want to go with someone. It can be a friend. Many of these questions are rhetorical, I know the advice that can be given. But it just doesn't comfort me.

Then there's water polo. Individual achievement is amazing, incredible, and fantastic, but when you play a team sport it's hard to feel accomplished when your so-called "team" does not even know the most basic fundamentals of the sport. Including the fact that it is a TEAM SPORT. Shooting the ball whenever you like is not how we can win games. Oh, and just because you are going to a college to play water polo (a lower-end college, athletics- and academics-wise, by the way) does not mean you are necessarily a good water polo player. Let the local newspapers gloat over you for now. Years from now, when I'm playing internationally with a world-class university degree, you will look back and regret ever being a bitch to me. You can guarantee that I won't remember you.

Black and Orange are much better colors anyways.

To be loved

Perfectly compatible. That's what I'm looking for. Not merely, simply, seemingly compatible, but truly, madly, insanely compatible. Like peanut butter and jelly, ying and yang,  Jack and Jill. I want to fall in love. Hard. I want to live life. I want to be adventurous; a daredevil, not meekly sitting on the sidelines watching as time passes us by. Yes, time has the appearance of rushing by us, and I want to be so caught up in the stream of time that it seems to stop; to suspend. There is nothing that can describe my longing for a happy life, and I am doing my best to get myself there. Of course, I can't control everything that happens in my life (I guess I have the notion that there is some free will in this world, but some things are beyond our control- like the actions of other people), but for the things I can control... Well I don't want to mess anything up.

They say that there is someone out there for everyone. That true love is waiting for you just around the corner. Maybe it is, but there are plenty if people who live their entire lives searching and never finding that special someone. I have of late been contemplating why it is that I am alone. My theory, as has been seconded or proposed by others, is that I have higher standards than some. On the one hand, I suppose it means that if I do find someone they will be intelligent, athletic, competitive, handsome, and adventurous. On the other hand, there is that "if"...

But who's to say that I need a man to be happy? Certainly not I. But that doesn't go to say that I wouldn't be even happier if I did have a man in my life. Someone to comfort me, to cuddle with me, watch sappy movies with me, get me flowers and chocolate, tell me I'm beautiful, even when I think I'm not. If someone like that walks into my life, he sure will be a keeper. I only hope that he will think the same of me.

It's 2014 already?

You know, people don't give a shit about what I write. I realize that I am a 17-year-old nobody, and that my writing, as I've mentioned before, isn't even that great, but that doesn't mean I don't want a touch of praise here or there (even criticism would be welcome at this point). After all, people only crave attention, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I want some too from time to time. In a world of facebook and twitter and instagram we've been raised and cultivated to believe that we are pathetic nobodies unless we are publicly recognized for our abilities (or lack thereof). But you know what, I don't really care. Maybe I'll succeed, maybe I'll achieve my dreams, and maybe I won't. What does it matter to you? If you like me, that's terrific. If you don't, well then so what?

It's 2014. I am graduating in six months, and I am going to be at Princeton University in about eight. It's a new year and I am feeling hopeful.

Are you feeling hopeful?

Goodbye.
No, hello.
You've stayed a while
and now it's time to go.
you did well,
yes, bravo!
Oh, please,
wish me luck,
I think it's time to go.

To be quite honest, it has been a crazy year. I don't feel obliged to tell you why exactly, but perhaps you can infer from the couple other posts I've written. If not, well, you've always got your imagination. Of course it all has a lot to do with college and boys and school and just life, but the details shall for now remain locked in my head, and perhaps on the pages of my journal, if I decided to write any of it down.

One last thing, why must your eyes sparkle so? and why must your smile be so dazzling? Please stop being perfect...

Have a wonderful 2014, everyone! (ehhhh just me, I guess? But seriously, if there is anyone reading this please say something to me. I want to know if anyone reads my nonsense.)

Me and the topic of love

What is love? And why did Mother Culture come up with the idea of love in the first place? Love is the meaning that we assigned to the otherwise meaningless act of procreation. Although at this point, procreation has become an interesting topic of discussion, seeing as humans are multiplying like cancer. But love. Yes, love. I can't say I really know what love feels like. I love my parents and my brothers and sisters, without a doubt, I even love water polo and learning and the world, but I can't say I've ever really loved a partner. My two month relationship Freshman year with my now really good friend was not a love relationship. Sure, we cared a lot about each other, but what we had was not true love. I've never had a relationship since. I am a virgin. Sure, I've had crushes and guys who have crushed on me, and I was even on the verge of being in a relationship with a guy who I found was not right for me at one point. The one guy I have crushed on the longest doesn't appear to feel the same way about me. Oh well, at least he also got into the university he wanted to.

So what is the point I am getting at here? Well first of all I want to repeat myself and say I don't know squat about love but I like to pretend that I do. Second, from what I do pretend to know, love is the exact antithesis of rationality. Everything that love entails is irrational; unpredictable; unexpected. But a relationship, now that is something else entirely. You may love a person with all of your heart, but you might never be able to have a good, strong relationship with them. You two may seem meant for each other, but when it comes to some matters, you could not be any more different. It's sad, but that's the way it is. Sometimes it is possible to make sacrifices and still maintain a healthy relationship. Sometimes that's not possible at all. You cannot ask a person to change who they are just because of how much you love them. Love is irrational. A relationship must not be so.

There is something else: life is unfair, and so is love. I have seen many classmates and adults in and out of relationships. Many of these people (to me at least) appear unattractive and unintelligent, which makes me wonder how in the world they are in relationships in the first place. But then I know people who have it all: intelligence, athleticism and kindness, and they are, like me, without a significant other. Why is this so? Part of me says that someone who "has it all" is intimidating. That is, it is intimidating to ask them out, for fear of rejection. Another part of me says that having it all limits your choices, so to speak, for people who are right for you. I suppose both of those are slightly positive, because hopefully in the end you'll end up with a really great partner. But at the same time, it's hard because in the meantime there is no one, and loneliness often appears to be our only companion.