dailyprompt – Page 15

First Time Grown Up Feeling

I think it was when I had my first job during the school holidays. Not sure how old I was, perhaps fifteen. The job was nothing to brag about. I worked in a store as a sales person. It was my first step into feeling like I was doing something productive. The job itself was boring and one thing I knew, I wanted to do better than that.

Anyway, when I got my first paycheck I was over the moon. It was money I had earned on my own and there was pride in that. Okay, it was a paltry sum but back then it felt like a whole lot of money! On my way home, I stopped at a Chinese restaurant and picked up some food to go. I think it was a noodle dish and a stir fry of some sort. Happy as a lark, I made my way home with the food containers tightly in grip and a big smile on my face.

I walked in the door like a grown up. Walking over to the table I placed the containers on the table and declared, “I brought food home.” I think I was glowing from head to toe! Watching my brothers and sisters dig in was something else and when my parents did the same, I felt like a grown up for the very first time.

It was my first grown up experience. However, these days kids are different. My son had everything handed to him and he led a privileged life. Work was nowhere in the picture and when he had to step out in the real world, I thought this is going to be a difficult transition. Well, it was. Amidst the complaints of working for a living and falling flat on his face, he is learning to be a grown up in his own way. Thank God for that!

Daily writing prompt

When was the first time you really felt like a grown up (if ever)?

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A Million Dollar Giveaway

Some of these questions do give my brain a workout not that it needs that much stimulation! It does alright on its own as it is.

Anyway, if I had a million dollars to give away, I would not give it out to one person. I’ve always wanted to set up a soup kitchen of sorts for people down on their luck so that’s something I would look into. Also, I would set up a place where people can sleep for the night or nights when the weather is unbearable outside. I think a million dollars would do much in that respect.

Last year, I met a young man in the supermarket parking lot and he had his hand out for some help. I gave him 5 euros. It wasn’t much and he was more than thankful. He told me that he had been sleeping at the train station and was looking to find his way back home. True? I don’t know but he looked rough. That chance meeting stayed on my mind. The next day I returned hoping to find him and to give him more money and some warm clothes but I never saw him again. I hope he made it home safely.

A million dollars? It would open up a whole world of new possibilities for some people and in a good way.

Daily writing prompt

If you had a million dollars to give away, who would you give it to?

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A No Fail Guarantee?

Wow! I would attempt a lot of things. That guarantee could open up many doors, ones I have steered away from.

Let’s see. Sky diving is one thing I would definitely attempt. I’ve always wanted to fly like a bird and the next best thing to that is to jump out of a plane knowing that I can have my cake and eat it too!

Next in line. I would definitely attempt hiking the Himalayas. Tibet is one place I would like to see and experience but it is dangerous territory and there are no guarantees that you’ll make it out alive. If it’s not the rock slides, earthquakes and or the dangers of a woman hiking alone, I would definitely attempt it.

Hmm…next on the list would be the Amazon rainforest. Lovely place but filled with dangers that could swallow you whole! So if I had a guarantee of success, I would definitely attempt it!

You get the picture. I would try all of the above and more but without a ” no fail guarantee” it’s a no go. Guess I’ll go to my grave dreaming of those places!

Daily writing prompt

What’s something you would attempt if you were guaranteed not to fail.

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The Journey

I think that the hardest personal goal I’ve set for myself is to decide that I want “better” and to do something about it. I call it “the journey.”

It has been a hard one and progress has been slow and at times it seems like I’m standing still at one spot and not moving at all. At other times, I think I keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again. Out of the corner of my eye, I see some improvement but it’s not enough. Yes, that is impatience showing up and thumping its nose at me! Honestly, there has been improvements.

I’m at a point where I can say “no” to things I don’t want. I move when I see something unsavory reaching out for me and I no longer let sympathy take over and say, “Give the poor guy a chance.” I used to and that was a big mistake right there. These days, I walk and don’t look back.

This journey has been hard but I won’t give up until I make it to the other side of here. I’ll know when I get there. The thing is to get back on trek after taking a break and to keep on moving. This one is going to test my patience, my peace of mind, my strength and most of all my resilience. It is ongoing so let’s see what happens.

Daily writing prompt

What was the hardest personal goal you’ve set for yourself?

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My Favorite Artists?

I have so many of them, however, I will go with the ones I listen to the most right now.

Kathy Melua

I love her brand of music, it is soft and easy to listen to. Her voice is one of a kind and I often listen to her when I’m relaxing. Here are some of my favorites.

The Closest Thing to Crazy

Nine Million Bicycles

Wonderful Life

Country Music

Luke Combs (Crazy Beautiful)

Darius Rucker (If I Told You)

Thomas Rhett (Angels Don’t Always Have Wings)

Coldplay

Fix You

Something Just Like This

I can come up with so many more but these are my favorite artists and I listen to them all the time. Oops, I forgot one more.

Teddy Swims

I like his voice a lot and his albums are great to listen to as well.

There you have it. My favorite picks.

Moving on…..

Daily writing prompt

Who are your favorite artists?

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Watching Clouds Go By

This is one of my favorite pastimes. It is my way to relax and to entertain myself.

I’ve always loved watching clouds go by and as a young girl I used to watch them for hours on end. Sometimes with friends and often alone. The game was to make out what they looked like. I mostly saw angels while my friends came up with some doozies!

I think that the young girl is still within me. Some days I can sit outside for hours on end and just watch as I see the angels floating by! During my walks, I do the same thing. Of course, the fields are a perfect place to cloud watch!

It is relaxing, soothing, calming and a great way to reel back an overactive mind and to give it some breathing space!

Daily writing prompt

What is your favorite hobby or pastime?

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Possessions

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

If I lost all my possessions, I would be sad which is a normal reaction. Possessions are things or stuff that we accumulate in our day to day existence. It builds up over time and it has memories and importance attached to them.

Losing my possessions would make me feel like I’m lost but if I step back and look at it from a distance instead of smack dap in the middle of it, they are just “things” after all. Sure, it will be a painful experience and some things cannot be replaced but it wouldn’t mean the end of the world. Just like with anything else, it means accepting the loss, rebuilding again and moving on.

Not easy to do and I hope it never happens, but if it does life still goes on and that is the truth of the matter.

Daily writing prompt

What would you do if you lost all your possessions?

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The Death Sentence

This is an issue that still grips me today. I used to be against the taking of a life and the death sentence was a no go as far as I was concerned until the day someone took my mother’s life.

My world got turned upside down and at the forefront was the issue of the death sentence. I was so sure that she (the perpetrator) would get the death penalty. I was so wrong but the problem was that I was sitting on the fence wanting it to happen, the death penalty to be handed down, and at the same time I wasn’t so sure. It was a time of deep unrest and turmoil of the worst kind.

I changed from someone who was against capital punishment to someone who thought that “an eye for an eye” was the way to go. Since I couldn’t do it myself, believe me I wanted to, I would let the justice system mete out the punishment. SHE deserved to die for what she had done! That was my rallying cry at the time.

The decision was not in my hands. The verdict was manslaughter to a lesser degree. Outrage? Absolutely. Why? I don’t know. Some technicality, it was said. Anyway, at some point in time while I was raging about the unfairness of it all, I looked in the mirror and saw someone else emerging. A person filled with anger, rage and revenge. I didn’t like what I saw.

I’ve changed my views on the death penalty since then. It’s a matter of survival for me. I needed to let go of the “demon” holding me in its grip. Rage and revenge had no place in my life. My mom is in a better place and so I decided to let it be. Basically, capital punishment does not deter crime but more importantly, the death penalty would not have brought my mom back to life.

I’ve changed my mind and I’m back to where I was in the beginning. No death penalty. One source says that capital punishment “constitutes cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment, which is prohibited under international human rights standards.” I still ask the question, “Did my mom get the justice she deserved.” The answer is a resounding NO! However, capital punishment would not have made it better either.

Daily writing prompt

What’s a topic or issue about which you’ve changed your mind?

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Public Speaking

I recall I was still in university when I applied for a job and got it! It was for the Management Department at the same university and the job itself didn’t scare me but one of the parts of the job did.

There were two of us who worked this job. My colleague was a beautiful blonde and she was a seasoned veteran or rather a pro at what she did. I, on the other hand, was shy, an introvert and hated attention of any kind. Our job was to welcome 30 or more top-level managers to the university and lead them through a week of training. This involved meeting them at the hotel lobby when they arrived, mingling at reception and taking them out to dinner at some of the nicest restaurants in town. A dream job? Some may think so but I was young and inexperienced and not ready to spread my wings. I could handle the reception and hosting the dinner part. My problem was the public speaking gig that was part and parcel of the job.

I was so out of my league and I just couldn’t get up on stage, step up to the podium and do my welcome speech. Imagine this if you had 30 or 40 top guns in the industry staring back at you from the auditiorium! I did everything I was told to do and I even imagined them in their underwear but it didn’t help. I waited in the wings feeling like I was about to have a heart attack before my boss introduced me and left me on stage to do my bit alone.

It was excruciating but the minute I opened my mouth and started speaking, the nervousness settled down and according to my boss, I had done a marvelous job with the speech. I didn’t think so. That job made me feel so out of place but it was a good learning experience for later on. Sometimes the things we dread and make us feel out of place are the very things that help to catapult us to a better place in life. I changed jobs as soon as I could but I got better and more confident as I went along. Where did I go next? That is for another time.

There were many instances in my life where I felt out of place but that experience stands out like a sore thumb for more reasons than one!

Daily writing prompt

Tell us about a time when you felt out of place.

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My Life Without a Computer

Just when I’m getting used to having the computer at my beck and call, here’s a question that wants me to do without! Can I go back to a time without the computer? Let me see…..

It was tedious. Googling was out of the question so I had to spend lots of time at the library looking up information for my classes and it wasn’t like I could get the answers just like that either! It took lots of time. In one word, difficult!

The piece of technology that I always complain about is my constant companion these days so being without it would be like missing a friend terribly! Just like a friend, it has its ups and downs and SOMETIMES it drives me up the wall BUT it would be boring and difficult without it there. If I wanted to know something, just type in the words and there it is.

Writing might be slower too. I whizz through it now and within a few minutes or an hour, I have something whipped up and ready to do. Without the computer, I would be putting it all down on paper and that is time-consuming not to say a big mess! Now, I can brush it up, correct it, make it look good and send it off in no time at all.

What would my life look like without a computer? I hate to admit it but it would be difficult, boring, hair pulling stressful and without my “best friend” there, I would be up the creek without a paddle!

So, there, did I make you feel good? Good, now behave and let’s do this my way!

Daily writing prompt

Your life without a computer: what does it look like?

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