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Cling – 11th Jan Promp

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[PHOTO: Taken at Bodnant Gardens sometime a couple of years ago.]

Cling – hold on to tightly.

People cling onto everything. We cling on to people, places, things, memories, dreams, and ideas. Some people cling less than others, some people like to live a very minimalist lifestyle and have no room for things that clutter up their life. Others are the opposite. Others are like me… I’m going to try and keep this blog separate from my “Getting lost in documentation….” post that I wrote way back in June, but, I feel I need to make some form of connection before I can move on… I cling to a lot. Not so much people, I’m not a person who needs to be attached at the hip to others at all times and cling to them and their every word, I’m much clingier to things… Back at the house (36) I have roughly 5 boxes full of “things”, bits and bobs and random crap. I cling to them and what they mean, what they represent, and I’m not very good at giving them up. Up until this summer I even had an old Sprite can in a bag, in a box with a really badly drawn love heart on it from high school. I have ticket stubs, old corks, my Emrys ap Iwan swipe cards, bookmarks, notes etc. etc. … all collecting dust and weighing down the rafters. I hold tightly to things that once upon a time meant something to me, whether it was something that made me smile in the middle of class (thinking here of a 2 inch piece of paper that Aysha threw at me one Chemistry class), or a token memento of a really good night… no matter how big or small it was, if it was even vaguely significant to me for more than 6 seconds, it’s probably in a box somewhere.

So, imagine my upset when Continue reading →

Awe: 23rd June Prompt

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Awe

a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder.

Awe is such a perfect word to write about and think of right now, and that definition explains it all. I used to think I was in awe of travellers, explorers and globetrotters, and I guess I still am. But now I think I’m more in awe of the countries themselves, not the people landing on the airport runway. And when I say countries, I mean everything that they contain; the culture, the locals, the food, the sights, the unique nature and environment of each place. I don’t want to just repeat the definition, but as I said, it sums it up so perfectly. I’m filled with wonder, with a small, but very real, spark of fear, of the many many different countries I’ve not yet been privileged enough to step foot in. The fear and wonder is one of those crazy mixed up emotions that fills me up, right to the brim, but it’s so intertwined with such a strong raging excitement, that it’s hard to contain. I feel so passionately about this and one of my favourite words Continue reading →

Struggle: 14th June Prompt

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[Photograph taken in Siem Reap, Cambodia in one of the temples]

Struggle

- make forceful or violent efforts to get free of restraint 
  or constriction.
- engage in conflict.
- strive to achieve or attain something in the face of difficulty 
  or resistance.
- have difficulty handling or coping with.
- make one's way with difficulty.

I have become very familiar with this word over the past year, I don’t think I ever used it much BC [Before China], but here, it becomes one of your most used words and phrases (#OhChina and all that). A little struggle or challenge is something most people look for in life, something that creates a little resistance in the everyday trawl. Something to engage, test and push yourself to become a better, or maybe just a more experienced individual.

“The struggle is real.” Candice uses this phrase a lot, and in consequence (they do say you pick up from your surroundings), so do I. Some struggles are good, as I said, they Continue reading →

Connected: 7th June Prompt

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[Photo: the night sky above Abergele beach roughly 5 years ago]

 Connected

– bring together or into contact so that a real or notional link is established.

The word connected has caused me to have “The Colours of The Wind” stuck in my head for the afternoon, while walking around Suzhou Museum for an art trip. In the sing-song words of Pocahontas:

…and we are all connected to each other,
 In a circle, in a hoop that never ends…

I love the idea that everyone and everything on this great big beautiful Earth is connected in some way. It’s the whole butterfly effect, and of course, my main man Darwin. One person’s actions has a larger meaning and causes a ripple effect, yes this is getting very metaphorical etc., but stick with it. This may all seem very obvious, everyone knows this about life, but I truly, honestly, passionately believe it. Everything you do in Continue reading →

Angry: 1st June Prompt

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Angry

Adjective: having a strong feeling of or showing annoyance, displeasure, or hostility; full of anger.

This is not a subject or word I like to think about. Everyone gets angry from time to time, some more often than others, that’s life unfortunately. But no one likes being angry, no one wakes up every morning and hopes to have a day that instils anger in their soul. If these people do exist, then I feel very fortunate to not have them in my life. People react differently to anger, and when they themselves are angry. It confused and upset me for a long time that my body’s reaction to anger was not the same as other people I knew. When I’m angry for myself and my own personal reasons, that’s fine, I can handle that. But when I get angry on behalf of others; my friends, my family, people I love and care about. That’s the anger that frustrates me. (Yes. I get angry at my reaction to anger.) I found this description of anger on the internet a few years ago, and I honestly Continue reading →

Circus: 31st May Prompt

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Circus

  1. a travelling company of acrobats, trained animals, and clowns that gives performances, typically in a large tent, in a series of different places.

  2. British (in place names) a rounded open space in a city where several streets converge

A Circus makes me think of chaos. It definitely doesn’t fill me with childhood excitement, or remind me of the smell of popcorn or the stickiness of cotton candy (I am ashamed that that came into my head before candy-floss. Oh America, you’re taking over my brain and I’ve never even graced your shores…).

To my knowledge, I have only ever been to one circus in all my 22 (soon to be 23) years. A Chinese Circus that came to Rhyl Pavilion when I was younger and left me in awe of their talents, with a green plastic spinning plate to practice with at home. As family and friends know, and it really is more common than once expected, I’m not a fan of clowns to say the absolute least. The only clown I can really stomach is IT. Make sense? No. Hell no, he’s notoriously one of the most terrifying clowns in
Continue reading →

Blank: 30th May Prompt

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I am going to attempt to follow the WordPress: Prompt-a-day tag where each morning (unfortunately American time) they publish a new word which the bloggers of the WordPress world are challenged to write a blog post inspired by that word. Yesterday, Monday 30th May, the word was Blank. As I stated, they are released as the American population awaken from their slumber, so being on China time here, I will be doing completing these for the previous day’s word.

Blank

  1. (of a surface or background) unrelieved by decorative or other features; bare, empty, or plain.
  2. showing incomprehension or no reaction.

Blank. Blank makes you, by definition; think of emptiness, of something that is missing or lacking. Blankness can be one of the most intimidating things. For writers; a blank word document or notebook page. For Artists; a blank canvas or sketchbook. For office workers; a blank email or form. For tattooists: a blank stretch of skin. For Photographers; a blank roll of film or a memory card. For Travellers; a blank page on the calendar… I must admit. I struggle with all of the above. I may not be an established writer, artist, office worker, tattooist, photographer or traveller. But we all struggle with filling in the blanks of
Continue reading →