It was originally written for HR anyway <3>
I managed.
I managed to find some time, between the bulk of the essays, between the shots of caffeine or vodka. Somewhere above the warm laptop and below the incessant flicker of the lights two shades too bright, I have managed to salvage some time and set it aside.
Sometime between the rising sun and the settling dust, I managed to find a sliver of time, a selection of precious minutes to place in an hourglass. Amidst the hustle and bustle and silver lemon summer sun, the disorganization of grass-stained shoes, the permanent haze of smog above sea level, I managed to find the time to fall in love with the idea of love and discover myself.
I managed to find some time, between the bulk of the essays, between the shots of caffeine or vodka. Somewhere above the warm laptop and below the incessant flicker of the lights two shades too bright, I have managed to salvage some time and set it aside.
Sometime between the rising sun and the settling dust, I managed to find a sliver of time, a selection of precious minutes to place in an hourglass. Amidst the hustle and bustle and silver lemon summer sun, the disorganization of grass-stained shoes, the permanent haze of smog above sea level, I managed to find the time to fall in love with the idea of love and discover myself.
Hey Everybody:
When I was sixteen,
I was relatively convinced I was going to rule the world someday.
I would rule all the sea otters and there would be free, healthy food distributed daily on a global scale, and no more starvation, and no more malnutrition.
No one would be kidnapped in the streets, pulled from their beds in the dead of the night. No one would be manhandled, or treated unjustly, or silenced with a palm or a pistol.
No one would be objectified, or disfigured, or strapped down, or ridiculed. No one would be judged, and everyone would have at least one best friend and loving parent.
and everyone would stop being so terrified of being themselves.
And friendly fire wouldn't be friendly at all, and be doused out immediately, with a hose of justice and a condescending pat on the head. Everyone, really, would receive a condescending pat on the head.
World leaders would all respond to me, and when I was too busy, they would be given a fortune cookie and whilst the crumbs would collect on their business suits, the slip of paper would read (and always would, every time) 'Love more: Hate less, stupid.'
And the UN would rid itself of the Security Council.
And education would be free and universal like health care, and efficient, and everyone would notice that student who sits alone during recess and offer them the soccer ball.
No one would gain anything but grief and regret from another's suffering, and the greedy few who continued on would lead miserably short lives by the bottle.
And people would know the difference between Respect and Respectable.
Music would be played in the streets, all over. Some Beatles, some Spektor, some Fall Out Boy, just to make sure everyone's awake.
The internet would stop stealing our attention spans and people would read more books, and learn more, and enjoy learning, and teaching, and laughing, and getting to know new people.
And everybody would stop disrespecting one another, and listen instead of hearing, and speak instead of talk, and give second chances. And third. And fourth.
Every child would be brought up with a swimming pool and a swingset, so when they're older, they remember how to get themselves out of trouble, and never forget what it's like to fly.
And everyone would fall in love at least once, but not know when, so the paranoia and uncertainty would drive some insane, cause them to turn to religion, and the internet, and pornography. Arguably the same thing. The last two. Not all three.
And everyone would know what heartbreak feels like. And never forget it.
And everyone would stop holding grudges. Singular feuds and entire countries' histories. Everything would be forgiven. and we would all start anew, everyday. Because everyday would be a blessing, and people would realize it.
When I was sixteen,
I was relatively convinced that I had the world figured out.
I managed to find the time to fall in love with the idea of love
and discover myself.
I was relatively convinced I was going to rule the world someday.
I would rule all the sea otters and there would be free, healthy food distributed daily on a global scale, and no more starvation, and no more malnutrition.
No one would be kidnapped in the streets, pulled from their beds in the dead of the night. No one would be manhandled, or treated unjustly, or silenced with a palm or a pistol.
No one would be objectified, or disfigured, or strapped down, or ridiculed. No one would be judged, and everyone would have at least one best friend and loving parent.
and everyone would stop being so terrified of being themselves.
And friendly fire wouldn't be friendly at all, and be doused out immediately, with a hose of justice and a condescending pat on the head. Everyone, really, would receive a condescending pat on the head.
World leaders would all respond to me, and when I was too busy, they would be given a fortune cookie and whilst the crumbs would collect on their business suits, the slip of paper would read (and always would, every time) 'Love more: Hate less, stupid.'
And the UN would rid itself of the Security Council.
And education would be free and universal like health care, and efficient, and everyone would notice that student who sits alone during recess and offer them the soccer ball.
No one would gain anything but grief and regret from another's suffering, and the greedy few who continued on would lead miserably short lives by the bottle.
And people would know the difference between Respect and Respectable.
Music would be played in the streets, all over. Some Beatles, some Spektor, some Fall Out Boy, just to make sure everyone's awake.
The internet would stop stealing our attention spans and people would read more books, and learn more, and enjoy learning, and teaching, and laughing, and getting to know new people.
And everybody would stop disrespecting one another, and listen instead of hearing, and speak instead of talk, and give second chances. And third. And fourth.
Every child would be brought up with a swimming pool and a swingset, so when they're older, they remember how to get themselves out of trouble, and never forget what it's like to fly.
And everyone would fall in love at least once, but not know when, so the paranoia and uncertainty would drive some insane, cause them to turn to religion, and the internet, and pornography. Arguably the same thing. The last two. Not all three.
And everyone would know what heartbreak feels like. And never forget it.
And everyone would stop holding grudges. Singular feuds and entire countries' histories. Everything would be forgiven. and we would all start anew, everyday. Because everyday would be a blessing, and people would realize it.
When I was sixteen,
I was relatively convinced that I had the world figured out.
I managed to find the time to fall in love with the idea of love
and discover myself.
4 comments:
I thought this was Jess, the whole way, but especially the first part...
It would be nice if we lived in a perfect world...
Ahahaha when you said rule the sea otters and then feed the world thought you meant feed the world with sea otters!
Is this expanded on your blog post btw? Or am I getting confused with something else. Anyway I like the teenaged idealism. For an naive teen you sure knew a lot about the UN lol. And you definitely dreamt big. I like this side of you Tabs :)
The only thing that bothered me was the fortune cookie thing. It seemed a bit TOO naive and childish...I mean as a metaphor that you're using now for effect. If that's an image pulled directly from your young self then I don't mean to diss lol
Tis not a metaphor, haha, it's actually what I wanted to do.
And strangely enough still want to do.
Although maybe I'd change it to, 'You hate. I love.'
And yeah. Knew a lot about global events when I was sixteen :P
You are so. righteous. GOD. I mean, I knew all this side of you but WOW. Just distilled all into a single post :P So optimistic.
I like the fact that it says at the beginning and reiterates at the end "When I was sixteen", setting a definite differentiation between then and now. It fills in the blanks for us so that we know this isn't necessarily what you believe anymore (although you'd still like to). There was still the super bitterness that showed through your writing which I thought was really well done - because the positive just seemed like a thickly slathered mask covering what you feel like now.
Unlike Andrea, I really enjoyed the fortune cookie part. The imagery of getting fortune cookie crumbs on the business suits was fantastic.
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