Living life was so monotonous and terribly tedious. I would wake up in the morning, go to school, and wait for something that would distinguish that day from all the rest. I was just reacting to whatever life showed me. I was overlooking the amazing things that life presented and in my neglect, only enjoyed what others point out to me. I lived like this until one special day, an ordinary day made incredible when I met David. David had an extraordinary gift of optimism, a romantic readiness that I have only seen in him thus far and wait in anticipation to find again. He showed me beauty fashioned out of seemingly nothing, personalized through his own unique medium of living. And on that day I finally understood how to live dispensing joy, I found my own medium to express and paint beauty, word play and puns. Then the sun shone and not only did it bring light, but also started to brighten up my day.

7AM waking up in the morning, gotta have my bowl gotta have my cereal. So I’m getting on the bus, just another day at school. Nothing appeared different, but now I was aware of the charm of life hidden in plain sight waiting for someone to discover it. In English class, Sheema and Max were performing a scene that involved Sheema throwing a bottle of water at Max. Well he threw too hard and the water bottle broke and spilled everywhere, water you doing..? All of a sudden, this flounder became graceful and disappointed frowns turned accepting grins.
On way to Spanish class, I see Rick twirling his new drum stick in his right hand. A few weeks ago Rick got a job walking dogs to save up for a new drum set, sometimes I would see him running down the street with three or four dogs in each hand. It looked pretty ruff, but I guess he thought it was worth it. Soon I realized that puns aren’t just for making lighthearted jokes, they can express and convey emotions about a situation just as well as a poem or painting could. The pride that comes accompanied with finding the perfect word to describe a situation was overwhelming like a singer hitting the perfect pitch to express their otherwise hidden emotions. During third period, Spanish class, Emdee really needed to go to the bathroom. He accidently hit the trashcan as he hurriedly shuffled out of the room. I guess you could say he went out with a bang. It’s fascinating, a clumsy exit suddenly made suave by a mere five words embodying the cleverness of the mind and implications of the language.
Now I’m walking up the stairs to engineering class when I see Aseem hobbling along with a pair of crutches into an elevator. He put on his juke boots and broke his ankles playing soccer last week. The doctor said he couldn’t play soccer for the next six months but at least he gets to use the elevator; it has its ups and downs I guess. Before meeting David, I was very disappointed about Aseem’s injury, because he was a spectacle on the soccer field. Being stuck on the bench for months was a tragedy and a letdown for the soccer team this year. But with a clever pun, I became hopeful about the future, realizing Aseem’s brief time on the bench will soon be over, and bounce back with renewed efforts, even more motivated by the time he’s lost.
In engineering class for some unknown reason, Lee decided to take Yu’s chair when Yu wasn’t looking. Lacking a seat, Yu asked Lee to share to which Lee promptly said no. It was pretty underhanded, but to Yu, Lee only appeared slightly unchairitable. It was pretty immense knowing that you’ve just made what appeares to be an innocent remark on Lee’s philanthropy, while in reality you are also referencing the object that he refuses to give away. It was like an inside joke, one special and unique to that situation alone.
And on one Tuesday some weeks ago, I was walking down the street when I see Andrew showing Charlie his rock collection, Charlie hated it but Andrew adored them, it was a rocky relationship. Two words made into one unconventional phrase, the beauty of its simplicity was great, but its obvious meaning of physical rocks along with its underlying meaning of an unstable relationship makes it so much more fulfilling to create. I felt like a mini poet, let Joyce write his sentences with triple and quadruple meanings, I’m content with my simple double meanings personalized to one specific relationship.
My friends and I decided to eat dinner at Potbellies before seeing Wreck-it-Ralph. There were so many cool sandwiches I couldn’t decide what to get so in the end I just got the cheapest sandwich: The Hammie. So when I get back to the table, Bill asks me, “What’d you get?” I replied, “I told them to go ham.” It was like making an exclusive inside joke with only a select generation understanding because that string of words is so modern and would sound like nonsense to generations prior.
I was riding home from school on the bus one day when Ellen randomly asks Nathan, “On a scale of one to ten, what would you rate me?” Nathan being the diplomat he is answers neutrally, “No…” well I guess he wasn’t as neutral as I guessed because he answered, “nien”. It was even more meaningful and personal because Nathan was actually very interested in German and would frequently substitute “no” with “nien” when he talks. And it was so manipulative how I took his own interests to bend his words to make a far more amusing situation.
I still don’t know what I’m gonna do with my life. My friend Ross is determined to be a shoe seller. He’s so dedicated and with all the effort he’s put in so far, he’s a shoe in for the job. Uh, I’ll have to stop the story here because I just spilled some Welch’s grape cherry juice on my laptop; I guess you could say I’m in a sticky situation.