Alyxandra Sarik

“The issue, of course, is balance. A familiar problem in another costume: the desire to be solidified, in relation, bound to people and to things in time, here expressed in my house and its groaning upper regions, its poor old crowded brain stuffed with memory. I want to live with my lover and my animals in a house stratified with our collective histories. And of course I carry, permanently, the contradictory desire - to be free, open to the winds, awash in light and air, unbordered,” (Mark Doty, Still Life with Oysters and Lemon ). Many of us have seen the millennials on YouTube and Instagram who get to travel the world for a living. We watch them and we feel inspired, hopeful, and bordered with a tinge of jealous discontent. My desire for far-off places and the freedom to move between these borders is a yearning I have carried with me for as long as I can remember. This aspiration seems to promise a whispered tale of dreamlike experience, personal growth, and adventure. For

     L ately I've been interested in the idea of how a wild adolescence may or may not affect an individual's personal development.  Most people go through a period in their teens and twenties where they seem to indulge their primal urges if you will.  Usually, it is with reckless behavior such as partying, drinking and drugs.  There are other less typical and harmful ways of course.  But it seems to be with the intent of embracing youth, impulse and fitting in with friends.  Despite these actions being foolish and stupid most of the time, there is no denying there is a sense of admiration for people who are brave enough to embrace reckless impulses.  They remind us of the a rchetype of the naïve hero who will risk everything to save his friends, the wild genius who will hang their life on the balance on a whim, the passionate artist who will never give up .  These people go against wisdom and reason.  And perhaps youth in the real world are manifestations of the desir

     When Lee woke up to the sound of drapes being pulled across the window, she knew she was in for a bad day. Please leave me alone , she thought, burying her pounding head underneath a pillow.      “Why you sleep in middle of day!” Her mother’s shrill voice erased any chance of returning to her slumber.  “I will have no lazy daughter!” Although Lee might have expected this when she was a teenager, she was an adult now.  She had a husband and a house of her own.  Why was her mother even here?      “Just go home,” she said, unmoving.      “We both leaving.  Get out of bed.” She pulled away Lee’s blankets, leaving her exposed and cold.      “I’m not going anywhere.”  She tried pulling back her covers, but they were on the floor now.      “Yes, you are. Get up!” She motioned impatiently at Lee, waving her arms wildly.  Lee sat up and rubbed her eyes, wincing at the tender flesh underneath her eyelid.  She’d forgotten the bruise left there last night.  She looked at the clock w

Voiceless by E.G. Wilson My rating: 4 of 5 stars Voiceless is a story that has very interesting and unique qualities. It is definitely a fresh read for YA fiction. I loved the idea of having one's voice and creativity being viciously stripped from the main character, Addy. With this new painful reality, she had to learn to live with not being able to communicate with her friends or family, or even be able to write effectively. Wilson did a great job showing the secluding effects that had on her, as well with other emotional impacts. Besides that, it is a futuristic story with sci-fi technology and fun Kiwi lingo, which I enjoyed. Near the end, it had some good twists and daring decisions that I did not see coming. During the middle of the book, I'll admit got a little slow for me. But once I pushed past a couple chapters, it got much better. After all that, I'll say it is not only an interesting story, but a story that can perhaps resonate with a lot of people on a

He is his father’s son Her mother’s daughter They are a one-skinned family Descended from a long line Of one-skins He has his father’s father’s hair And her mother’s eyes They all look alike I am my father’s son My mother’s daughter We are a three-skinned family Descended from a long line Of two-skins I have my father’s hair And my mother’s eyes We do not look alike We are a three-skinned family We are colored soup We are divided We are one We look adopted We look hereditary We are a three-skinned family We are our father’s sons Our mother’s daughters We descend from a long line of two-skins We have our father’s hair Our mother’s eyes We don’t look alike We are a three-skinned family

Release The thumping of beats fire licking the black. Night this is our release. Us women encircle Red hot coals  we cry out for the gods to hear us to guide us to purge us. We are the women who plant seeds for the future. We petition the gods to save us from the wrath. He is coming he has come. We are defiled. We weep O gods deliver us! or else our fate is sealed hence. Release The gods demand sacrifice! Life for life blood for our blood it is just it is good. Bring out the sacrifice! the creature to be slain. A young goat laid on the altar rip out the limbs decapitate the head pull out the organs. O gods here is our sacrifice! Blood is on our hands now you must bless us we have made our sacrifice. Release