Aha!

Eureka! By Jove, I think I've got it! That's it! Success! Mission accomplished! Of course! Brilliant! I can see it now! It all makes sense now!

I found it. The answer. Yeah, that one. The one that answers that most personal question, that most important quandary, that most deeply embedded curiosity. You know the one I'm talking about. That thing you were always too scared to ask. Too scared of what the answer might be. Might have always been. Might become. Remember it now? Guess what? I know the answer.

The solution to every problem that ever came around actually needing a solution. The missing gear in the mechanics of Life. The looking glass through which thirty-seven shades of gray become crystal clear black and white.

I know it.

And you know what?

I'll tell you.

Listen closely.

I'll only say it once.

It depends.

What...?

"Why did you do that?"

"...do what?"

"Don't smart off to me, boy!"

"I...don't have any idea what you're ranting about."

"Drop the stupid act. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"Do I now?"

"Yes...it bloody well saved my life."

"So you burst in from nowhere, screaming to me? How grateful."

"Yes, that was unseemly. You have my apologies..."

"Accepted."

"Quite, quite. Ah...whatever happened to that salamander figurine you had? The one of porcelain?"

"That little thing? The story it has now...but alas, I sold it to a very deserving home."

"I see...pity. What about those diamonds...the ones that glow with a light of their own?"

"They're in better hands as well now. But is business the only reason you came?"

"No, I suppose not. Can't quite remember what the real reason was though."

"Haha, you seem to be growing senile."

"And you seem to be growing fickle. Last I was here, those items weren't for sale."

"Maybe not to you. You never needed them."

"Well of course. No one needs diamonds."

"No, not the diamonds...but what they represented to the person who now possesses them."

"What else can a diamond represent but wealth?"

"See, a person in your situation couldn't understand...would never need to understand."

"I don't know if I should take offense to that..."

"Are you happy?"

"Aren't you blunt? I suppose it took me a while...but yes, I believe I am."

"It took you a while?"

"Money makes fools of us all."

"How eloquent...but why did it take so long for you to realize this?"

"Dear boy, it just occurred to me."

"Hm?"

"You never answered my original question."

"Which was...?"

"Why did you do that?"

"Sigh...do what?"

"Kill me."

Blanks

Seeing this huge, white expanse is a little depressing. I had an idea, then I saw this thing and thought "How am I supposed to fill all this space up?" Writing short stuff is all well and good, yeah, but it's sort of a challenge to try and beat the blanks back, filling the ranks of my alphabetical army with meaningful phrases and philosophical words that can actually tie together into a theme understood by more than just me.

It sort of raises the question, why do I write? For myself? Certainly not, silly stranger. I like to think of myself as being a less selfish person than that (don't we all) and besides, what would be the point of actually writing it down in that case? If the writer wrote only for himself, he'd be better off just keeping it all in his head and away from that harsh mistress we call public criticism. After all, the mind is far better suited to the organization of thoughts and ideas than [digital] pen and paper. No, any writer who claims to write for himself is just being silly.

That pretty much just leaves one other option, right? While maybe the least flashy, writing is still an art, and easily one of the most powerful. We write so that others may read. Read and hopefully be changed for the better. We write to leave our mark on the world. We write to be analyzed. We write because, hell, it's way more fun than school gives it credit for.

Go on. Fill in some blanks.

Steps

"I can make a difference by....no wait, scratch that. I WILL make a difference by...Wait, how can I make a difference? I'm just a naive child...No matter how grandiose my plans may turn out to be, who would lend their ear to a mere child...? An immature youth, completely unversed in the ways of this darkening world. A world delving deeper and deeper into an inescapable abyss...An abyss in which greed, envy, and pride reside. Three triplets whose charms have eternally ensnared the hearts of mortal men, who wreak havoc on the moral values of the world, who are only growing ever stronger...What is one child against the powers of such demons? We've been waltzing down a crumbling bridge, never once looking back into our ruinous wake. The sun shines on the path we chose not to take...the path that we started down...one step at a time...One step...after the other...If I just start with what I can do...maybe...no, not maybe. I will start with what I can do. And what I can do, right here and right now, is write. Write about what's wrong, write about what's right, write about what is dark, write about what is light. All I have to do is...believe in my writing, meager though it may be. For if one believes, it will become two, then three...All it takes is one. One mind. One voice. It can make a difference. It will make a difference. Just believe...yeah...that sounds about right."

-So wrote the young apprentice upon his very soul...

Can You See Clearly Now?

Light = Knowledge

Darkness = Mystery

That's how we see it, right? But why? Why can't it be Light = inside the box and Darkness = outside the box? Concrete versus Imagination? What's the big deal with Light always being good and Darkness being the evil witch, cackling up to her horrible, melting end?

Don't give me that crap about what I just said. It's a matter of perspective and you know it. Some old guy way back when decided how to think and everyone else decided to think what he had thunk without giving it much thought themselves.

Light equals the past, the known, the written, the has-been, the essay already written, the problem already answered, all that is tangible.

Darkness equals the future, the unknown, the soon-to-be-written, the will-be, the brainstorming, the empty blank, all that is intangible.

Am I shedding any Light onto the situation?? (haha, jokes) 'Cause I'd rather be making it oh so Darker.

Proper Grammar

I after We except when....wait what? No, I always goes after We. And We always goes after Them. So I goes after Them always too. I, being singular, takes second place to anything that is plural. We is inclusive of I however, so it too must concede dominance to Them, as Them is not inclusive of I. I stands alone, We stands together, They stand without I at all. I has the power of selfishness, We have the power of disguised selfishness , They have the power of selflessness. One finger. Five fingers. Five hands.

Bad.

Good.

Best.

Quick Review

We've got two arms to work and toil.

We've got two legs to carry us far.

We've got two eyes to seek out the truth.

We've got two ears to listen and learn.

We've got one nose to tell us what's wrong.

We've got one mouth that can open and close.

What do you want?

Another one to eat with?

How come people are only silent when they're eating?