I: Finding
they say it's a time
to find yourself
come into your own
but what if I lose myself
amid the chaos
the changing
of everything I know
will who I am now
like who I become
I'm so scared
of becoming lost.

---Hello! So I haven't been here for awhile, I know. So this chapter has both point of views just because it makes it interesting :) I know the style is very “simple” in this story, and I know there isn't much description and it’s mostly dialogue. The reason I decided to write like this was because I wanted to write how a realistic average teenager thinks/talks/acts/reacts/whatever. That’s why I try to post a few short stories now and then to sort of balance myself out. So yeah, please read, and be sure to see the notes. Thanks ;) ----

Ainsley-Kate’s POV

I.
I don’t have a confidence problem
In fact, I am a little vain
I don’t mean to insinuate
That I think I am perfect
Because that is entirely untrue
However,
I like myself not just physically
But as a whole
And I don’t think that is a bad thing.

II.
I often wish that I could
Be eight years old again
Times were a lot simpler
Way back when

III.
I don’t have a best friend
Right now
I get a little lonely
But
It will get better

Two major Muslim groups exist, the Shi’ites and the Sunnis, and their differences are largely historical in origin. But Smith takes a moment to describe a more minor, mystic sect of Islam, one that other Muslims may regard as heretical. Choosing to omit the details of the Shi’ites and Sunnis, he

“take[s] up instead a division that has universal tones. It is the vertical division between the mystics of Islam, called Sufis, and the remaining majority of the faith, who are equally good Muslims but are not mystics.” (258)

Muhammad claimed that Gabriel commanded him to proclaim. The Islamic creed that spread as the great proclamation was “La ilaha illa ‘llah!” which means, “There is no god but God!” In more words, the Surah embodies the Muslim spirit and is part of their daily prayers:

Eleven-Thirty

Mindless Banter
Crazy words full of insanity, 
Meaningless conversation,
Carrying no weight but to tease, 
To play with ones vocabulary, 
And to experiment, 
With every synonym of the word, 
"No." 
Getting us nowhere, 
Talking about silly things,
I tire quickly of brainless chit chat, 
Sighing and trailing off into silence,
Which then leads to noises. 
Immature boy, 
Your lips form sounds that I cannot, 
Popping and fizzing, 
Like the coke bottles you drink, 
-Nasty!-

Me, I

Her hair is naturally curly
An explosion, really
Bursting from her face
Widening its surface

Me, II

And she cannot
Cannot
Fall
Asleep unless the door handle is
Touching the wall
She doesn't know why she doesn't
Know why at all

Me, III

And she lives by the mantra
That she's not much of an animal
Person, really
She just likes who she likes
And sometimes isn't even inclined
To pet the newest members of their
Four-footed brigade

Me, IV

In continuation of my review of The World’s Religions by Huston Smith, I have now left the strange waters of surreality and false optimism of the Eastern religions and near more familiar shores. In his book, Smith begins the Western religions with Islam, a belief near enough to express some similar philosophical ideas but still foreign in many respects.

I looked out the window at what appeared to be the end of the world. Dull clouds hung up in the sky made the day all so gloomy, and billowing grey smoke rose from big towering factories that seemed to be covering the whole city. There was no grass about, and the only animals around were dogs being taken out for a walk, not even wild birds bothered to visit this city, and when you breathed in the air, it smelt man made, not fresh like the air back home on the farm. I tried to look for colour, there was none, only the old scrappy peeling paint on the factory walls.