When I was little I believed that when balloons flew into the sky they went to heaven and the people up there would catch them. This meant that if I sent a balloon with a message written on it my parents would receive it. This was something my family did in memory of my parents. My favorite time was my junior year of high school, when my aunt surprised my sister and me with 3 purple balloons. We were able to write messages to my Dad, which we had not been able to do in awhile . It felt good to send something physical and meaningful up into the sky. I know that they get them because I can feel it in my heart. Memories do not necessarily need to be happy to be favorites. Sometimes the best memories are in honor of the ones we love.
-B.M.
Thank you for sharing your memory with us.
I hope that someone might read it, and find that they are not alone in their troubles or find solace in such a beautiful moment.
“Im just so lost, no matter how hard I try to be joyful every moment is stained by sorrow.”
She looked at him, searching those tear filled eyes.
“You have a soul like the night sky, there is darkness and doubt, but the stars shine all the brighter. I know you’re lost, but if you look to the stars, you will always find your way home.”
Recently, it seems as though everywhere I look, on the news, or social media I find nothing but negatives. While it’s important to face problems, if we focus on nothing but darkness, we forget the dawn.
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What is your favorite moment in your life?
I hope that this, might be a place that people can come together and share the things they love. This series, will begin with me and I hope that you, the readers, will send in some moments of your own. With every shared experience, we might build a place of warmth for everyone.
Please submit your memory @ samesnsts@gmail.com
My favorite memory comes from my junior year of college. I recently began to date someone really special, and I set out to do anything in my power to impress her. She often spoke of how much she loved her two younger brothers and I decided that I would buy tickets for all four of us to a theme park for Halloween. As an only child, I never experienced family outings with siblings but soon discovered that it is one hell of an experience. The boys were wild, and very excited to be going with us. I got to know them better, joking about one’s inability to smile, and the other’s impressive ability to name every element on the periodic table as we waited in line. We went through a few rides, and then decided to test our bravery in the haunted houses. She, and her brothers were terrified, jumping and screaming as each scare popped out from some hidden corner. The moment, that I will never forget, was as we exited the last haunted house. She and her brothers all were hanging off of me, wrapped around my arms and throat as they laughed and smiled. They let go and started teasing one another for being so afraid, poking and pushing one another, their eyes filled with joy. The pure happiness of spending a night, with what would eventually feel like family, was something that I will never forget. We walked out of the park, holding hands as the boys ran around us in the crisp fall air, and all the bad in the world just didn’t exist for an evening. I know that, it’s not some incredible or life-changing thing but to me, it was a perfect day.
sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.
Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world
Desmond Tutu
Unevenmango and I live in Chicago, and recently he mentioned something to me that really stuck. We spent the night watching movies with our other two roommates and talking. Once the second movie ended, he noticed that I hadn’t said much towards the end of the film. He looked at me for a moment and asked why I was quiet. I mumbled something along the lines of being in my head about my ex. He paused a minute and then said “You know people think things are bad all over, but they’re really not. You focus on the bad, and yeah it sucks but there are so many good moments you don’t see. The bad seems terrible because the good is the baseline. You just got a new job. You just got asked on a date. We are thriving in one of the largest cities in the country. I know you feel lost but if you focus on the good more maybe the dark wont be so strong.” This seemed like nonsense at first I won’t lie. I mean I really never listen to unevenmango, even though he always seems to be right. I thought about it for a moment and it reminded me of a video I had seen a couple years back. I remembered that it had made me feel some hope, and that it had reminded me that it was not all darkness.
I know it may seem a bit cheesy, but if you truly listen the message is an honest one. Each day, thousands of us use the CTA and ride alongside people we most likely will never see again. Each life filled with countless joys and agonies. I have spent my last few months engrossed in my own problems and blind to the lives of others. The next time I rode the L I more closely looked at those around me and for the first time I really saw. There were friends and families, those that seemed lost, uneasy flirting between new lovers, and the occasional smiling baby. Though my life may not always be happy, by focusing on the world around me I may participate in the winding road of life.
Haskell Moore: No matter what you do it will never amount to anything more than a single drop in a limitless ocean. Adam Ewing: What is an ocean but a multitude of drops?
David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas
There may be days where you feel alone, where it seems as though life is not worth another agonizing minute, but there is always good in this world. This isn’t to say that poof your depression, problems, or some of the other thousands of terrible things you may be going through can be forgotten by a stranger’s smile. The pain that you hold demands to be felt, to loosely quote Dan Green. Perhaps though, if we were to search for those brief moments light, we might find an instant of respite each day. If you look up at night, if you gaze only into that ravenous black, all the gentle beauty of the stars would seem but a feeble glimmer. However, if instead you set your eyes upon the stars, that nothingness appears as but a backdrop to better illuminate the splendor of their glow.
I like pizza rolls cause they can be a really quick micro wave food. if you have the time/access you can cook them in the oven to get them nice and crispy. They’re little pockets of pizza good-ness without having to buy a whole pizza, you can cook the right amount you want at the time. Ranch is a MUST to dip them in.
MT
Chicken and Dumplings
Why? because they’re delicious? Do I need a better reason? They take like 15 minutes to make.
Unevenmango
He tried to explain how to make them in a dorm, but honestly it was really complicated and a chef I am not. As one of our most extra collaborators this was to be expected.
Mac & Cheese
Specifically the microwaveable kind. Its quick, easy, and you don’t need a stove. Always a necessity in any dorm.
KC
Order Out
I don’t really like to cook anything in a dorm honestly. I kinda just either go to the caf, or I go out to eat. Most of the time its Qdoba to be honest. I just don’t want to deal with the mess or getting things together. Why stress, when you can just go out.
Stormy20
Poor Man’s Pasta
So you can get everything from dollar tree, and it tastes absolutely amazing. Im also Italian so you know. I just make it like you would ramen in a microwave so you don’t even need a stove top. straight up pasta noodles, marinara sauce, parmesan cheese, and pepperoni. Delete water add sauce after cooking noodles.
Following my graduation from CSC, I moved to the Lake of the Ozarks. While I have only been here a few weeks, I have already discovered some very important life lessons.
1. ALWAYS apply sunscreen. Even when you think you’ve applied enough apply more. No one wants to spend their first few days as a lobster, and the tan lines aren’t always cute.
2. NEVER and i repeat this wholeheartedly NEVER go to the store on weekends. You will never get out the line is horrendous and people are rude. Well maybe not all the people but enough that you will always wish that you had not gone.
3. If you’re going to get on random peoples boats be prepared to have to find a way home. Trust me on this one I had to pay 40$ for an uber. However, it was fun. So, I guess weigh the options?
4. If you’re getting off your boat onto the dock hold on tightly to your phones and other belongings . This one goes out to my girl Georgia for not only dropping her phone but her boyfriends RIP ***they went diving and actually found her boyfriends phone but not hers. Not the best end to an otherwise pleasant day.
5. Don’t go to certain bars on the lake alone or leave your drink unattended. I don’t know this from personal experience, but my friends who are Literal cops told me it’s just not a good place. Roofie central, sketchy, or dare I say ~shady~ people go there.
Throughout my 21 years on this earth I’ve had a lot of temporary people. Temporary friends, temporary lovers, and in the age of use it and throw it away I know I’m not the only one to experience this. I’ve had both short lived friendships and shorter relationships. I believe, these people are temporary for a reason. These people often teach you some kind of lesson, and help you to become a stronger person. For me they have all been huge reality checks on many different levels. Lesson number one was that people grow apart. People change drastically as they’re growing and sometimes you grow away from someone you care about. I lost one of my closest friends in this way. She had been my best friend for years (and I thought she always would be). However as we grew older, we travled down different paths. I was starting to look towards my future more and more, with graduation quickly approaching. She instead chose to run with a different crowd. When she broke off our friendship, I realized I still cared about and loved her, but we were no longer the girls who laughed because we had no idea what we were doing in math class.
I also haven’t had much luck on the romantic side of relationships. A lot of people I’ve talked to have been potential relationships and have made me believe they wanted that future. Usually that did not end up being the individual’s intentions. Whenever these relationships ended, I’ve often felt alone and pretty down. However these kind of people have helped teach me the true value of independence and how to love myself. I’ve had a lot of temporary people for many reasons. Sometimes it was me that cut it off and sometimes it was them. But each one made me realize my self worth and what I truly wanted so I cannot regret any of these people. All of these interactions, good and bad, have made me who I am today. Honestly I’m pretty proud of the person I’ve become so thank you to all my temporary people for the growth and peace I’ve come to with myself. So thank you to everyone in my life who has passed by you made me who I am.
Same Sunsets 
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