Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Musical free write--New Year's Eve 2010
Thursday, December 31, 2010
12:08am
Listening to the song “The Other Side” by El Debarge, I feel happy and inspired. You know what that means, another creative note, thought, maybe a poem—who knows? For now I’ll just free write and let my thoughts consume me, like this song is doing to my soul. His voice and the background music are so moving that it’s almost spiritual. I love music. It helps me think, relax, step out of my shell whether it’s through writing or facing the world. It helps build my confidence. I feel free! I am grateful for artists like Debarge, Remy Shand, Deborah Bond, Incognito, Jill Scott, Al Jareau, Musiq Soulchild, and so many others that make good soul, jazz, and pop music! I love them for creating such a powerful tool to bring people together, soothe the soul, and evoke happiness through their music.
Its 12:11am and officially New Year’s Eve. Soon it will be January first 2011. I’ve been pondering on my New Year’s wishes—I won’t say “resolutions,” because I usually don’t follow them. This 2010 has been challenging and I’ve reflected a lot. I’m grateful for the good and bad things that happened, because I needed to reflect. This year was a reflecting and learning year. New Year 2011 is a year of doing. I’m happy God blessed me to have a nice ending to November and all of December. I feel prepared to enter 2011 with a smile (something I haven’t been able to do for a few years) and eagerness to start a new chapter in my life. It’s about Dara, her writing journey, teaching, counseling, and empowering others. Letting go of the past was the BEST thing I could’ve done and although it’s still a process, it’s becoming easier to do.
How appropriate I’m listening to “Liberate” by Remy Shand. The right songs are playing as I write this. Thank goodness for Zune and the shuffle feature!
My proposal for 2011 is, allow the inner-self to come out and play. No more shyness, or fear, it’s time to be embraced by the world. Allow love to come in, and give love to others. Be healthy and wise, ignoring anyone who wants to criticize. Stay afloat and not let life’s troubles get to you, because tomorrow is another day—another opportunity. Let’s be thankful for our treasures and cherish them, and continue to live this life to the fullest. Happy New Year everyone! Stay beautiful!!!
A poem…
Music makes me wanna sing
Dance and bop my head
The instruments and lyrics
Soothes my spirit
Glowing
Creativity and freedom
Immerse myself
Within the blending of beats
Hollow voices swarm
Around my ears
Feet bounce
Hands wiggle
Shoulders circulate
I close my eyes
Travel with the music
Smile along the way
Not wanting to leave
Original poem by Dara K. Fulton 12-31-2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Does our voices count anymore?
11:41pm
With all that's been happening with this blizzard, little to no cleanups, Mayor's lack of concern, and a fare hike in effect tomorrow (less than 20 mins from now), I wonder does our voices count anymore? We, New Yorkers, are becoming more and more frustrated with the lack of consideration from "the powers that be." They need to walk a day in our shoes. I can speak for most of us that our streets and sidewalks haven't been cleaned properly, and as a result people missed days from work, got stranded; there were even lives lost because the roads were snowed up and EMTs, firefighters and police couldn't get to people in time. There's NO excuse why the city wasn't better prepared. I understand people abandoned their cars, but that's because they couldn't get through the all the snow. Yes it caused blockage on the streets, but it was a matter of sitting in a stuck car or leaving it.
And what I don't understand is the lack of concern from our Mayor. I know he can only do his best, but I don't think he did in this case. Instead, he made excuses and caught an attitude when asked about his "lack of sensitivity," and whether he "cares" about New Yorkers. This is based on today's news conference with the Mayor in Hunts Point, Bronx (video posted on my page and blog). It angers me that we're getting less and paying more. When the MTA chairman was asked about wavering the fare hikes, he said "no" and insisted it must continue to be in effect. How sad! So all the people who were stranded on the A train, other trains were completely suspended, not to mention no buses, LIRR, Metro North and NJ transit were all affected, we STILL have to pay more. Thanks Mr. MTA Chairman for showing your concern for us--the people who help keep this city running.
Does our voices count for anything? It seems like the more we say, the more we get shut out and the "powers that be" continues doing what they want. Shaking my head in disgust.
With all that's been happening with this blizzard, little to no cleanups, Mayor's lack of concern, and a fare hike in effect tomorrow (less than 20 mins from now), I wonder does our voices count anymore? We, New Yorkers, are becoming more and more frustrated with the lack of consideration from "the powers that be." They need to walk a day in our shoes. I can speak for most of us that our streets and sidewalks haven't been cleaned properly, and as a result people missed days from work, got stranded; there were even lives lost because the roads were snowed up and EMTs, firefighters and police couldn't get to people in time. There's NO excuse why the city wasn't better prepared. I understand people abandoned their cars, but that's because they couldn't get through the all the snow. Yes it caused blockage on the streets, but it was a matter of sitting in a stuck car or leaving it.
And what I don't understand is the lack of concern from our Mayor. I know he can only do his best, but I don't think he did in this case. Instead, he made excuses and caught an attitude when asked about his "lack of sensitivity," and whether he "cares" about New Yorkers. This is based on today's news conference with the Mayor in Hunts Point, Bronx (video posted on my page and blog). It angers me that we're getting less and paying more. When the MTA chairman was asked about wavering the fare hikes, he said "no" and insisted it must continue to be in effect. How sad! So all the people who were stranded on the A train, other trains were completely suspended, not to mention no buses, LIRR, Metro North and NJ transit were all affected, we STILL have to pay more. Thanks Mr. MTA Chairman for showing your concern for us--the people who help keep this city running.
Does our voices count for anything? It seems like the more we say, the more we get shut out and the "powers that be" continues doing what they want. Shaking my head in disgust.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Thank you :)
I want to extend a BIG thank you to new "followers" following my blog! Your support encourages me to continue to share my writing with the world. I greatly appreciate it! Love you all :)
NYC December blizzard 2010--what a mess!
Tuesday 12-28-2010
Snow snow snow!!!! What happened to New York City with this December blizzard of 2010? Sanitation and MTA must of forgotten Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and the Bronx, because we have been stranded for 2 days now! Manhattan had their share of problems but not like the other boroughs. And the response from our Mayor and MTA chairman have been arrogant, uncaring, and inconsiderate. What's worse, we're still not seeing results of the "so-called" cleanup. December 30th we will face a fare hike...I think it should be wavered since majority of the MTA system was shut down or severely delayed from this blizzard. This hasn't been one of our worst blizzards compared to the Blizzard of 2006 and 1996, but it's the worst when it comes to cleanups and no train/bus service.
I wanted to see for myself if the the mess from the storm was as bad as everyone said it was. Let's see if the cleanup was actually a cleanup.
Bed-Stuy Brooklyn, New York
You be the judge.
Snow snow snow!!!! What happened to New York City with this December blizzard of 2010? Sanitation and MTA must of forgotten Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and the Bronx, because we have been stranded for 2 days now! Manhattan had their share of problems but not like the other boroughs. And the response from our Mayor and MTA chairman have been arrogant, uncaring, and inconsiderate. What's worse, we're still not seeing results of the "so-called" cleanup. December 30th we will face a fare hike...I think it should be wavered since majority of the MTA system was shut down or severely delayed from this blizzard. This hasn't been one of our worst blizzards compared to the Blizzard of 2006 and 1996, but it's the worst when it comes to cleanups and no train/bus service.
I wanted to see for myself if the the mess from the storm was as bad as everyone said it was. Let's see if the cleanup was actually a cleanup.
Bed-Stuy Brooklyn, New York
You be the judge.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
When you're on my mind
When you're on my mind
Happy feelings evoke through me
Not knowing what to do
Listen to music, daydream
Remembering your smile
Bright eyes, calm demeanor
Mysterious thoughts
When you're on my mind
My heart becomes warm
I smile immensely
I hope someday
You will no longer be on my mind
Because I will have the pleasure
Of seeing you face-to-face
And the happiness will shine
Through my smile
Happy feelings evoke through me
Not knowing what to do
Listen to music, daydream
Remembering your smile
Bright eyes, calm demeanor
Mysterious thoughts
When you're on my mind
My heart becomes warm
I smile immensely
I hope someday
You will no longer be on my mind
Because I will have the pleasure
Of seeing you face-to-face
And the happiness will shine
Through my smile
Snowy Christmas
It's the day after Christmas and it's snowing outside. For anyone who wanted a white Christmas, here it is! This holiday season was nice and simple. Just me, mom, and brother, we exchanged some gifts, took pictures as they laughed at me acting silly, as I always do during this season! I'm so appreciative of the gifts I received, but most importantly thankful to spend time with my family, and communicate with friends via phone or email. I received the best call from my best friend--she was a student of mine in 06' but we've remained in contact and developed a friendship. She told me "I love you like a sister." I am still moved by that. I love her too. I enjoyed the peace and quiet of Christmas day. Mom played Christmas carols, had a nice dinner, and watched basketball--well they did, I chatted on Facebook.
And I even had a chance to have a conversation with a new friend from Facebook--she is very nice!
I didn't want this season to pass by without posting on my new blog. I hope in new year 2011 more people will follow this blog and leave comments, pictures, or bring up discussion topics. I'm new to blogging so I'm open to suggestions!
Merry Christmas everyone! :)
Snowy in Brooklyn--December blizzard 2010
And I even had a chance to have a conversation with a new friend from Facebook--she is very nice!
I didn't want this season to pass by without posting on my new blog. I hope in new year 2011 more people will follow this blog and leave comments, pictures, or bring up discussion topics. I'm new to blogging so I'm open to suggestions!
Merry Christmas everyone! :)
Snowy in Brooklyn--December blizzard 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
My process of moving on
Monday 12/20/2010
7:30pm
I have been in the process of moving on from negative experiences and people. I took several steps to do that. I changed my number, stop communicating from negative people, and focused on making myself happy--again. Writing, prayer, music, and spending time with family and close friends, have all helped me through this process. I'm grateful for them and those things, because without it who knows where I would be now (emotionally).
I was unhappy in my last relationship. I felt I needed to stay to make him happy or convince myself I was happy. Although we've been friends for a long time, and I loved him dearly, there were things that caused us to separate. I understood this. However, the manner in which the breakup was done was all wrong. And the revelation I received afterward was too unbearable. He ended up hurting me more after our breakup.
I've had a couple of friends, at least I thought, who wished me bad or stopped speaking to me over something that was settled. Not to mention it wasn't an argument or anything major. I tried to make amends but sadly they didn't want to. I'm a sensitive person, but not so sensitive that I cannot take negative feedback. I try to make amends with everything or anyone I deal with, because I absolutely hate conflict.
Moving on, to me, is letting go of any bad feelings towards people that hurt you. I don't want to have a life filled with nonsense, misery, or be surrounded by negative people. There's enough of that in the world. Despite everything, I wish those individuals well. This also applies to my ex-boyfriend, because we were friends for a long time and it's sad that had to end too. I'm not a hateful person, but I cannot allow anyone to mistreat me simply because they call themselves a "friend." Some things aren't right.
So here I am saying "hello new experiences and new people." It's a bit scary because it's been a while since I met new people (except my students--I always meet new students), developed new friendships, and had new experiences. I look forward to the newness of 2011 and welcome new friendships and positive experiences :)
7:30pm
I have been in the process of moving on from negative experiences and people. I took several steps to do that. I changed my number, stop communicating from negative people, and focused on making myself happy--again. Writing, prayer, music, and spending time with family and close friends, have all helped me through this process. I'm grateful for them and those things, because without it who knows where I would be now (emotionally).
I was unhappy in my last relationship. I felt I needed to stay to make him happy or convince myself I was happy. Although we've been friends for a long time, and I loved him dearly, there were things that caused us to separate. I understood this. However, the manner in which the breakup was done was all wrong. And the revelation I received afterward was too unbearable. He ended up hurting me more after our breakup.
I've had a couple of friends, at least I thought, who wished me bad or stopped speaking to me over something that was settled. Not to mention it wasn't an argument or anything major. I tried to make amends but sadly they didn't want to. I'm a sensitive person, but not so sensitive that I cannot take negative feedback. I try to make amends with everything or anyone I deal with, because I absolutely hate conflict.
Moving on, to me, is letting go of any bad feelings towards people that hurt you. I don't want to have a life filled with nonsense, misery, or be surrounded by negative people. There's enough of that in the world. Despite everything, I wish those individuals well. This also applies to my ex-boyfriend, because we were friends for a long time and it's sad that had to end too. I'm not a hateful person, but I cannot allow anyone to mistreat me simply because they call themselves a "friend." Some things aren't right.
So here I am saying "hello new experiences and new people." It's a bit scary because it's been a while since I met new people (except my students--I always meet new students), developed new friendships, and had new experiences. I look forward to the newness of 2011 and welcome new friendships and positive experiences :)
Welcome to my Corner :)
Welcome to my new blog-Dara's Creative Corner! I am excited to have the opportunity to freely express myself to the world. I hope you will enjoy what I have to say, and feel free to give positive/constructive criticism to my works. I am an aspiring writer and looking for the opportunity to share my work with other writers or publishers. But that's NOT the only reason why I am here. I want to inspire and help people through my writing by discussing personal experiences, or general topics that are heartfelt and relate-able.
I am an ESL teacher by profession and currently working towards becoming a social worker. I'm passionate about teaching and helping people learn the English language. I am also passionate about counseling and empowering people achieve their goals. I hope to have the opportunity to do just that.
It is my hope and dream to make a difference in people's lives.
With that said, welcome to my corner of creativity, happiness, and love. I am happy to share apart of me with you.
With love and smiles :)
Dara
I am an ESL teacher by profession and currently working towards becoming a social worker. I'm passionate about teaching and helping people learn the English language. I am also passionate about counseling and empowering people achieve their goals. I hope to have the opportunity to do just that.
It is my hope and dream to make a difference in people's lives.
With that said, welcome to my corner of creativity, happiness, and love. I am happy to share apart of me with you.
With love and smiles :)
Dara
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