Wicked Witch

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Wicked Witch.”

Write about evil: how you understand it (or don’t), what you think it means, or a way it’s manifested, either in the world at large or in your life.

In fairy tales, evil is represented clearly for a child to easily point out. Even the manner in which a character is drawn or the way they speak would suggest evil. In real life however, evil is far more deceptive. Regular people abusing the very little power they possess can be construed as evil, because they harm for no purpose. Slithering politicians that utter lie after lie to catch an unaware population in their intricate web, are evil. Merciless people who use their knowledge or position to prey on the helpless, are evil. Criminals of all sorts aside, because they are generally glaringly evil much like their fictional counterparts, evil is within every person and surrounds us all. Only your actions can unleash that hidden evil, and only the masters of deception can mask that evil. So unlike fairy tales and children’s books, evil usually isn’t obvious, because it can come from the most unexpected of people or even the closest.

Middle Seat

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Middle Seat.”

It turns out that your neighbor on the plane/bus/train (or the person sitting at the next table at the coffee shop) is a very, very chatty tourist. Do you try to switch seats, go for a non-committal brief small talk, or make this person your new best friend?

This prompt reminds me of a particular plane ride. I was on my way back from Beirut and the woman sitting next to me was an Egyptian returning home after a 20+ year absence. She was an elderly highly talkative woman, who spent nearly the entire flight conversing with me and my friend. Out of respect I engaged in conversation, but I was not enjoying the experience. In general, I’m the kind of person who would rather have a quiet trip on whichever kind of public transportation I’m on, preferring to listen to music or read rather than talk.

Only Sixteen

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Only Sixteen.”

Tell us all about the person you were when you were sixteen. If you haven’t yet hit sixteen, tell us about the person you want to be at sixteen.

For many, sixteen is one of the earliest steps towards adulthood; a time to be cherished and thoroughly enjoyed. But for me being sixteen was probably one of the worst years of my life. A high school junior at the time, I was depressed, more so than at any other point in my life. My experience was a bit of a cliche really. I wasn’t popular, was bullied, fought back most of the time, and spent the majority of my time alone listening to the saddest and/or angriest music I could enjoy. However that year was a significant building block of the person I am today.

No, Thank You

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “No, Thank You.”

If you could permanently ban a word from general usage, which one would it be? Why?

Words I would ban:

• Rejection
• Tuition
• Entrance Visa

For anyone applying to college,  having trouble traveling or has ever been rejected. Need I say more?

Plastic Surgery Gone Terribly Wrong!

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Creepy.”

One of the creepiest things I come across whenever I’m browsing the internet are plastic surgeries that took a drastically wrong turn.

Jocelyn Wildenstein

Donatella Versace

Scott “Carrot Top” Thompson

Breaking the Silence

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Break the Silence.”

When was the last time you really wanted (or needed) to say something, but kept quiet? Write a post about what you should’ve said.

Silent as the grave

Silent as the dead

Silent out of fear

Silent out of dread

Words slay the darkness

Words show the light

Words set you free

Only if you have the might

Break the silence

Scream the words

Write them down

Share them and let them be heard

Because whether you are true

Or whether you are not

Your silence condemns you

Because your words can mean a lot

Delayed Contact

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Delayed Contact.”

How would you get along with your sibling(s), parent(s), or any other person you’ve known for a long time — if you only met them for the first time today?

My sister is one of my best friends. She is one of the people I’m closest to the most, by virtue of proximity if nothing else. That being said, if she wasn’t my sister that may have not been the case. While we have many similar personality traits, I believe our first encounter would not end with immediate friendship.  I think I would find her intimidating, and she would find me a little too aggressive.

Imagine such a situation:

We are both invited to dinner with some mutual friends. We would greet each other politely, but I would be seated closer to my friends and further away from her. She would be having an intense economic discussion with one of her friends; a topic  I have very little interest in. The topic will most probably take a socio-political turn, which would attract the remainder of the group’s attention. The discussion heats up, as such discussions usually do, putting the two of us at the center of the arena. While our opinions would probably not clash, our approaches certainly will. She is calm, and I become rather loud in discussions like these. Anyway, by the end of the night we probably won’t exchange phone numbers or Facebook information. However if the encounter is repeated several time, we would end up being friends, although I doubt it would be as close as we are now.

Queen of Procrastination

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Obstacle Course.”

Think about what you wanted to accomplish last week. Did you? What are the things that hold you back from doing everything you’d like to do?

My version of the above quote is as follows: “Why do today what can be done tomorrow, or next week, or next year, or NEVER” – Queen of Procrastination

I have granted myself this esteemed titled, which was approved by my friends and family, because I always leave everything to the last possible minute. There are three reasons why this happens:

1. Because I’m overwhelmed with the amount of work I need to complete
2. Because I’m uninterested in the work I need to do
3. Because I’m distracted or just lazy

I’ve learned to work well under pressure when I was an undergrad, usually as a result of procrastination. But now that the years of papers and deadlines are behind me, I have less of a reason to pressure myself. I put estimated deadlines to encourage/pressure myself to work within a particular time-frame, but because I know that not meeting these deadlines will have no consequences of any kind I’m less inclined to follow them. As a result I keep postponing things. I’ve been editing a novella I wrote two years ago and had planned on finishing it by the end of the summer. I’ve worked hard on editing it and then once I had more things on my plate, I simply put it aside. I have 5 out of 27 chapters left and for some reason I couldn’t bring myself to work on them. So my novella is left incomplete in a taunting file on my computer.

References: Ranting, Ranting II, Ranting III, Ranting V, End of the Semester (Terrorism)

Through the Window

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Through the Window.”

Go to the nearest window. Look out for a full minute. Write about what you saw.

Not the view from my window – Google

I looked through the largest window in my house, overlooking the narrow street where my building is located. I live in an apartment building in the middle of a crowded Cairo neighborhood, where there is almost no view. The building is surrounded by more building from every direction. Anyway from that particular window, I could see a thin line of trees in the middle of the street. I could also see the doormen from neighboring buildings, the frustrated residents in search of parking and the carefree youths swarming into the surrounding cafes. The view from my window is always noisy, active and ever-changing while never-changing.

Three Wishes

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Lucky Star.”

1. Comments from viewers, particularly on my creative pieces, I would really appreciate the feedback.
2. Guest bloggers, because I’d like my blog to be a little more diverse and accessed by more viewers.
3. Followers. Like any other blogger, I would love more followers.

-Baheya