~Life, Adapted By Aly~

New territory that I'm frightened to explore I think I'll pace around the borders before I pry open the door. New territory & I think I'm almost ready Spent the past half hour shaking; now I'm trying to get steady. With the precision of a gymnast on a beam, I take cautious steps & then I swallow my scream. & I know that I can't go through life with both of my eyes closed My pupils aren't film; they won't falter when exposed. So I smudge my fingerprints all over the clean slate So if I attempt to turn back, it will be too late. Teeth perched sharply on my lip I'm still not allowing a scream to slip. Time to stop dwelling on what is behind me 'Cause I've left evidence for the future to find me. After the past gasps for its final breath I throw dirt on the casket & the past gives in to death.

Lisa walked through her doromitory hallway, inadvertently overhearing Derek and John's dialogue through a door that she instantly wanted to break down and bulldoze out of existence. "I already feel a buzz," she heard one of them declare, "and it's barely even been a minute." Lisa lifted her hand, preparing to knock, but her hand remained poised in front of the door as she heard the echo of the other boy's response. "That's not a buzz. That's called breathing. This stuff makes breathing feel better. It makes everything feel better." Aghast, Lisa stood silently and still. For the first time, she didn't want them to hear her, though they never seemed to hear her when she wanted them to. Suddenly the boys' worn out dormitory door seemed symbolic. How could such a barrier build up between people who used to actually enjoy each other's company? Emersed in trepdiation, Lisa felt herself begin to break down. She considered turning u

I'm hearing about it everywhere and reading about it everywhere. I'm getting tired of hearing about employers checking out people's facebooks and even "googling" prospective employees for the purpose of obtaining background information. What ever happened to simply looking at a person's GPA and resume and judging on factors that actually apply in a workplace setting? Why don't I think it matters if someone partied during college? Well, what exactly do these people think will happen if heaven forbid, they hire a person that frequented parties during their college career while still managing to maintain a stellar GPA? Perhaps they expect a scenario like this: A company hires Jack, a Penn State graduate who majored in accounting, as their financial controller. Jack graduated with a 3.7 GPA, studied diligently throughout his 4 years at college and also attended parties every weekend. The company saw Jack's partying pictures on facebook but decided to disre

People really have difficulty identifying themselves these days. It involves a lot more than simply writing a name down on a piece of paper or looking at a reflection in the mirror. No, people change even the most simple characteristics about themselves. Almost everyone embellishes their natural qualities. Normally I would not find this problematic, but recently I've taken to thinking about how extreme some people take these metamorpheses. Most people know me as Aly, not my full name, Alyson. I have no problem with the name Alyson, but if people would begin to call me Alyson at this point in the game, it would feel strange because I have identified myself with the name Aly for years now. Some people knock out their first names completely and go by their middle names. Others have a nickname that sounds nothing like their first, middle, or last names. Some people create a name to go with a new persona that they have created for themselves. They want no remnents of the previ