Final Paper

Audience Member

I heard the annoying sound of my alarm waking me up once again and I rolled over and turned it off. As I woke up I noticed that I had left my TV on yet again and ironically the same music video that was playing yesterday was playing once again. I climbed out of bed and began my ever so consistent morning routine however, this morning felt different than any other. For some reason I felt like I had been doing this exact thing before but I wasn’t surprised that I felt this way knowing that I do the same thing every morning as I get ready. I noticed as I walked up my stairs to get ready that my mom wasn’t up yet, so like yesterday I went and woke her up. It seemed strange that she overslept two days in a row but I really didn’t think much of it. As I woke her up she said the exact same thing that she had said the day before but I ignored the repeated phrase. As I went down to get dressed I saw that I had laid out my clothes the night before and I realized they were the same clothes I thought I had worn just the day before. I remembered that I was wearing a new shirt that I hadn’t worn yet so if I had worn it yesterday the tag would no longer be on it. The tag was still on my brand new shirt and I could still smell the fresh laundry detergent coming from my just washed jeans. I could quite explain what was going on but I did my best to ignore all the strange things that were going on.

                As school began I went about my day like I always had but today I knew exactly how everything was going to turn out before it ever happened. Yesterday I remembered as I walked up the stairs to one of my classes I tripped and feel in front of a whole group of people and it happened once again today. I couldn’t believe my luck, tripping up the stairs two days in a row but when I asked the person that I was walking with if I had done this exact same thing she explained that yesterday we didn’t even go up the stairs and looked at me like I was crazy. The weird events of the day didn’t stop there. In one of my favorite classes, my teacher announced that she was going to retire and it was going to be her last year and I knew that I had heard this exact thing come from this exact person in an identical way. I also took note that not only was I wearing the same clothes that I seemed to be wearing yesterday, everyone else had been wearing the same clothes they had been wearing the day before. I wasn’t sure what was going on and decided that last night I had had a very vivid dream about what was going to be happening the next day. This was unlike anything that I had ever experienced before but I tried to ignore the feeling of shock and confusion as I went about the rest of my day.

                At lunch my friends and I were talking about the same topics that I had already talked about and we were once again laughing at the same jokes that were being said as we ate our lunches. Much like the beginning of my day, my final two classes were exactly the same as I had remembered them from the day before but went about them as if it were just another normal uneventful Friday. As the final bell rang I could not wait to go home and take a nap, hoping to shake off this weird feeling and have enough energy to enjoy my Friday night.

                As I arrived home, I noticed that my mom was home again early and I was quite happy to see her. I was hoping that I had just dreamed about what was going to happen at school and that my night would be like any normal night where I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen but as my mom greeted me I was once again engulfed by my strange and unexplainable reality. My mom and I sat down and talked about how my day was and I told her everything that had happened that day leaving out the part where I had been able to predict everything that was going to happen and the feeling that I had already lived this day.  She asked me what I was going to do tonight, and I needed to act as if I had no idea even though I knew exactly what was going to happen where I would be going and who I would be with. I told my mom that I had a long day and needed a nap and as I walked down stairs she told me how proud she was to have a daughter like me and I told her how much I loved her.

                After spending a good hour on my couch unable to fall asleep I felt my phone vibrate. As I opened the message I knew what it was going to say and I replied once again with the same response. My friends asked me to go to a party with them and I could refuse going out and possibly having the opportunity to forget about all that was going on today. I ran upstairs to tell my mom what I would be doing tonight and I found that she was out running errands. I quickly called her and told her my plans and hung up the phone to go and get ready. It wasn’t really my thing to go out and go to parties with a lot of people but I felt like it would be a nice change of pace and a good distraction.

                As I was running out the door in my dress and heels I quickly hugged my dad and told him where I was going and that I would be home later. A while before the party my friends and I were at someone’s house getting ready discussing all that could possibly happen tonight and I did more listening than talking. I knew my friends wouldn’t really understand what was going on and I didn’t want to try and explain something to them that I didn’t quite understand so I sat smiling adding a comment here and there. After what seemed like hours of getting ready and talking about the night, we were finally on our way to the party. As we approached the house there were what seemed to be hundreds of cars lining the drive way and the neighborhood causing all of us to feel a sense of anxiousness and squeal in excitement.  I had felt the same way the night before and I really wasn’t expecting this party to be any different than I had remembered it from the day before.

                We walked into the already packed house and were hit by the incredibly loud noise that was surrounding the place. It was hard to walk anywhere because people were everywhere you turned. It was nice to be around all of my friends and people that just wanted to have a good time but the stimulation seemed to be more overwhelming than I had remembered. As the night progressed the party somehow increased in size and the noise was unlike anything I had ever heard. For a while the thoughts of the day felt my mind and I let everything happen as it was supposed to and didn’t think about it more than should have. The longer I was at the party the more I started to notice that I was unable to remember the memories as clearly as I had been. The more people I met the more unfamiliar they became and I almost felt relieved that this strange feeling was finally fading away. As the night neared its end I knew that this strange dream like state that I had gone through the whole day with was gone and I was able to enjoy life as it came to me.

                Like most parties there was alcohol being consumed but my friends and I weren’t those under the influence. We got into our car and started to drive away. We turned the music up and rolled down the windows allowing the breeze to flow freely through the car. I heard a loud noise come from the back seat and I quickly turned around in the passenger seat to see what was going on. The last thing I remember was seeing the brightest light coming straight towards us and soon all was silent.

                As the crowd seemed to gather I noticed that I was just standing off to the side of road watching all that was going on around me. I saw my friends being wheeled in the ambulances and the driver of the other car being pulled out of the now upside down car. It wasn’t until I saw a familiar body being hauled into the back of the ambulance that I realized I was not ok and I was watching everything that was going on outside of my body. I peeked into the back of the rescue vehicle that held my limp body and heard the paramedics announce my time of death. The words sounded as if they were said in different language and it was then that all of the puzzle pieces seemed to fall into place. This whole day was not a vivid dream that I was remembering from the night before, it was my reality and I was just an audience member watching the last day of my life being played out all over again.

Journal

I was pleastanly surpirsed with how much I enjoyed this class. I have to say that I enjoyed the poetry unit much more than the short story unit. I thought that by allowing us to write a bunch of different poems was a good way to allow us to explore language in a different way and express ourselves through our writing. Before this class I didnt really appreciate the art of poetry but now I really miss having to write a poem everyday. I also really enjoyed the lyrics assignment. It was a good way to be introduced to new music and music of all different types it was also a very good way to see the things that we had been learning being used in something that most of us cant go a day without. I would have to say that before this class I never really thought that I was a very good writer, but after writing everyday and exploring different avenues of writing I feel that I was able to find something that I enjoyed writing and that I was proud to show off.

Somethings that I didnt really like about this class were having to write short stories because personally I dont have enough creativity to create a good concrete short story. I also didnt like that we had to write a science fiction story because I dont know much about science fiction and I didnt feel like I was in my most comfortable subject of writing. Another thing that I might change for later calsses would be that you should have more daily journals where people can chose what they want to write. Yes it is nice have topics to write about when I feel like I cant think of anything creavtive but it is nice to have some time to wirte about things that are going on in our lives and having the chance to express or feelings in the safety of our blogs. I would have also liked if maybe you would have made people share their writing because after reading my neighbors journals and poems I think everyone in the class would love to hear it as well asd see what other people are doing during their writing time.

Journal

I cant really think of a time that I have had a really terrible experience at a restaurant but I dont think that I will ever be able to eat at Friday's ever again. I remember it like it was yesterday. My family and I were in Florida and we stopped at the restaurant to get something to eat and it had been the frist time in a long time that I had eaten there. I remembered that I ordered a Burger and I enjoyed it at the time. Everything seemed to be fine but when I got back to the hotel I started to feel really sick. I wasnt sure what it was that was causing this terrible shomach ache but I quickly jumped to a conclusion as I was leaning over the toilet. I cant be exactly sure if it was the food that had made me sick but I couldnt really think of anything else that could have possibly made me this sick. I was throwing up all night and in the small enclosed hotel room all of my family members were feeling just as bad as I was. In morning I was once again ok and able to keep food down but from then on I will never be able to go back to that restaurant and enjoy the food with out worry.

Journal

And today is the day that I had been working so hard for. Having my own restaurant has always been a dream of mine and I couldnt actually believe that it was coming true. My friend and I had been working on this concept for quite sometime and worked harder on this than we ever had before. Our restaurant isnt much different when it comes to the menu we have pretty much anything you could ask for from itilian to mexican to of course american but our pride and joy lays in the one of a kind chicken fingers that we produce at our restaurant. We wanted to please every pallet from the gourmet lovers to the pickest of all eaters and our menu seems to fulfilll those needs. Our location is really what sets us apart from most restaurants. In the front we have the normal family looking restaurant with the whole laid back and california feel and in the back we have an open ocean veiw that is breath taking. The restaurant is really centered around the open back part of the building and that it what attracts most of our clients. On a nice sunny day it couldnt get better than to enjoy one of your favorite meals while watching the waves crash onto the sand and feel the nice breeze coming off the water. This restaurant truned out better than I could have ever expected it to and I am so very proud of what I created.

Journal

He always knew that something was quite right about this house. He constantly heard noises and felt that someone was always there with him. No one had ever believed him when he tired to explain what was going on and as time passed he started to believe that he was going crazy. One night when a giant storm hit this tiny town was the night he knew that something was in the house with him. As he sat watching the weather channel he started to hear a faint voice that sounds like a young child laughing. He couldnt tell if he was just distracted by the loud booming thunder of if he was just imagining things but as time passed the noise was getting louder and louder. Every once and a while the voice seemed to be calling his name and as he sat on his chair he could feel his heart beginning to race and his plams getting sweaty. Out of the corner of his eye he saw something moving and quickly turned his head to see what it was. Of course when he looked over there was nothing to be seen and he slowly truned he attenetion back on to the tv. He sensed that something was watching him and he knew that he was going to catch whatever was living in his house with him. He again saw something out of the corner of his eye but he sat completly still. The thing was no longer off to the side of him and he saw the rug under his feet quickly move up and down as if something was carwling underneath him. After a few moments of watching the thing that was crawling under the rug he slowly got up and grabbed his chair. With chair in hand, he was ready to get whatever it was that was living and haunting him. As the creature moved closer and closer the more ready he became. When it was right under his feet he knew it was now of never and swung the chair down as hard as he could.

Science Fiction Story

The Dream

As I started to open my eyes, I was blinded by a bright light that seemed to be shining directly at me. I wasn’t sure where I was or what was happening as I tried to walk out of my little personal tube that I had evidently been in for quite some time.  As I looked around I noticed that this place looked fairly familiar but the technology that was being used around the room was something that I had not seen before. I was told by an older looking woman in a lab coat that I needed to give myself a little time to recover and gather my bearings before I went out on my own to explore this new world. I wasn’t really sure what the woman meant when she said I could go out and explore this new world so I kindly asked her for an explanation of what was going on. She explained to me that I had just been woken up from being frozen for 100 years and I couldn’t really believe what I was hearing. After having some time to think about what was going on, and I guess collect my bearings, I was set free to start living in the world that I had apparently last seen 100 years ago. I was expecting to see everything look completely different and look like I was from another planet but I was pleasantly surprised to see what the world was like.

                I stepped out onto the ground that looked as familiar as ever and could not believe how similar the world still appeared to be. The buildings were just as tall maybe a little taller and the ground was just as dull and dirty as ever. The sidewalks and the streets were still crowded with people and I had to quickly move out of the way to avoid being run over by the fast-paced pedestrians. All I could do was sit back and take in all that was going on around me. As I watched person after person move quickly past me I once again noticed the new and different technology that was being used. The phones that I was familiar with had only just begun to have the means to video chat, but here in this new world you no longer just heard the voice of the person you were talking to; a virtual image of them would pop right out of your screen.  It was like the movie that I had seen before being frozen called wall-e where you never really had to be with the person to talk to them face to face because technology could do it for you. I wasn’t quite sure what to think of this crazy and unfamiliar thing that I had just seen but I just couldn’t take my eyes off of it.  

Although, the world that I was living in looked, smelled, and felt the same as it had before I was frozen. I couldn’t have felt like more of an outsider. After the initial excitement and enjoyment of seeing the world again I remembered that I do not know anyone in this new world and I didn’t have anyone that I could turn to and talk. I felt my pockets to try and find something that was familiar from the world I had once lived in, and felt my iPod and cell phone. I knew that my phone really wouldn’t be much use in this new place and I didn’t have anyone to talk to so I pulled out my iPod instead, and turned to the thing that I knew would always be there for me no matter what; music. I crossed my fingers hoping that this now ancient iPod would turn on and to my surprise it did. I felt a wave of relief and I was once again submerged in something that was comforting and familiar. As I was walking down the street it was almost impossible not to smile and dance around when listening to my coveted music but I didn’t want to act like as much of an outsider as I felt.  As I let the music fade into the background, I took in all that was around me and tried to study the new ways of this world. As I continued to walk along, I clutched the tiny piece of paper that contained the address of my new home. I couldn’t help but notice how much my mouth was watering every time I passed a fast food restaurant, or really any restaurant for that matter. Despite my better judgment, I gave into my nagging hunger and entered into a cute little diner on the corner. Again I was taken aback by the technology that was being used in this new place. At this diner they didn’t have any waiters come up to your table and take your order, you would type it into the computer screen and a robot type machine would bring your food out for you.

As I sat there and enjoyed my food that really didn’t taste as good as I remembered it to, I couldn’t help but think about how much I missed my old way of life. I quietly sat eating my food listening to my music when I saw out of the corner of my eye someone approaching my table. At first I expected it to be the waiter checking up on how I was doing and if my meal tasted ok, but I soon remembered that waiters didn’t exist in this new life or at least at this diner. I tightly clutched my iPod and just waited for the stranger to pass by my table however, the person stopped right next to my seat and just stared down at me. Although I was getting an uneasy feeling from this strange person, there was something about his stare that made it impossible to avoid looking up. As I slowly moved my eyes up to meet this mysterious person’s gaze, I noted that this person was a boy and he looked like he was in fairly good shape. When our eyes finally met, I realized why I could not resist his gaze. His eyes were the prettiest green that I have ever seen and I had to blink a few times to make sure that I was seeing correctly.

“May I sit with you?” The boy asked

I could not hear what he had said and I quickly took my ear buds out and asked him to repeat what he had just said. He once again asked if he could join me and I swiftly replied yes. In the life I had been living before my freezing, it was not like me to welcome strangers to come and join me while I ate alone but I couldn’t resist those piercing eyes. I quickly wrapped up my headphones and put my iPod back into the safety of my pocket. As I finished this quick little task I noticed that the boy was staring at me with wonder in his eyes. I wasn’t sure if I had something on my face or if I really looked like that much of an outsider. After a few awkward and silent moments I was able to ask what he was staring at. It took him a few moments to respond but the boy asked me
                “What was that thing?”

It took me a few minutes to understand what he was asking and I simply replied that it was my iPod assuming that he knew exactly what it was. By the look on his face, that simple explanation was not enough for him to understand. I went into further explanation as to what it was used for and he just started to laugh. I then learned that in this new place to listen to music, all you had to do was put a small chip into your ear and tell the device what you wanted to listen to and it would be right there playing in your ear. We sat there for what seemed like only a few minutes but once I looked down at the time I saw that we had been there for hours. He had told me all about what life is like in this place that is new and unfamiliar to me and I told him that the life I had known was much different than the life I had woken up in. I told him that I needed to go off and continue the search for my new home but that we would meet again. As I walked away I was starting to feel that life wouldn’t be that bad in this new world.

                I walked and walked until I finally found my new home and I couldn’t wait to just lie down and think about all that had happened to me today. When I opened the door I was pleasantly surprised to see that this little apartment was just like one that had been in the world I used to live in. I feel asleep right when my head hit the pillow. The next few days past and I wasn’t quite ready to venture out on my own so I stayed in my apartment and attempted to figured out all new technologies that had caused me problems. Life seemed to be going quite well and I was getting the hang of all the new things this world had to offer but I soon realized that I once again missed the life I had been living and all of those that were in it. I had met a new friend and we got along quite well but it was nothing compared to my love for my friends and family that I had before I was frozen. I also realized that I couldn’t really remember the time that I was actually frozen. I seemed to remember all the time that was leading up to it but I couldn’t quite recall the exact time that I had climbed into that tiny tube of mine and was frozen for 100 years. As I sat and thought more and more about it I realized that I couldn’t quite remember ever agreeing to being frozen, nor did I remember waking up 100 years later. With that thought now planted into my mind I couldn’t think of anything else. I tried my hardest to bring back the memories form when I had been frozen but nothing seemed to come to mind. It was as if someone had forced me into the tube without my consent and made sure that I didn’t remember. After days passed where I didn’t leave my house I figured that all the time spent cooped up in one little area was causing my mind to wander off to crazy places and I needed some fresh air.  I gathered my iPod and the money that they had left for me and I set out to go get some things that I needed for my cozy little apartment. Right as I stepped out of the building I was greeted by the mysterious man that I had spent hours talking to just a few days ago. Again like the first time we met I was given an uneasy feeling. However, I ignored it and just told myself that his company and the fresh air will help clear my mind from the crazy things that I had been thinking of earlier. He asked what I was up to and I told him that I was out running a few errands and once again asked if he could join me. I was longing for someone to talk to, so again I quickly replied yes and we were off. As I looked into his eyes today I saw something that I had not seen the other day in the diner. Although they were the prettiest green I had ever seen there was something deep inside of them that made me believe something was lurking behind his nice and friendly façade.

                After we had walked for a while and stopped at a few super markets we sat to grab something to eat. We continued our conversation but today it did not seem the same as is had a few days ago. He noticed that something had been bothering me and he asked what I was thinking about. I told him that I didn’t think that I willingly chose to be frozen for 100 years and this comment seemed to make him quite uncomfortable. I continued to talk about what I had been thinking about for the past few days and I noticed that the more I talked about it the more fidgety and uncomfortable he became. I knew that something wasn’t quite right about this mysterious man that I had met and I was now starting to find out why. I asked him over and over to tell me how crazy that sounded and he would tell me that it was a little crazy but never really sounded like he believed the words that were coming out of his mouth. After awhile I told him that I needed to be headed home. He offered to walk me home but I could tell that he really didn’t want to. When I noticed this I knew that I had to take up his offer and allow him to walk me home so I could continue discovering the secrets he had been hiding.

                As we approached my building I told him that I had a wonderful time and enjoyed talking to him again however, he was not as animated as I was. Before I walked up into the building I asked how he knew that this was my building earlier today and he quietly and timidly said that it was just a lucky guess. I knew that this was not the truth but I accepted it and went on my way. That night as I sat in my apartment I started to feel like I was figuring out what had happened to me the night I was frozen. I knew that I needed to spend as much time as possible with this man that I still didn’t know the name of and crack the shell that held the secrets of that night.

                The next day I again met up with him and we continued to talk like nothing had ever happened. I sensed that he was much more aware of what he was going to say and the information that he was going to reveal and I knew that I had to just work that much harder to get it out of him. As we walked down the street I felt that someone was closely following us and every time I turned around to check, I saw that no one was even pay attention to us. I noticed that he was once again wearing the chip that played any song that you wanted to listen to and I asked him if I could try it out. He immediately and forcefully said no then calmly explained that it is personalized to fit only in one person’s ear and it would not work if I tried it. I didn’t believe a single word that he said but I played it off like it was the most truthful thing I had ever heard. As the day passed I watched everything the man did very closely and he continually made this hand movement that looked like he was telling someone to back off or to stay back. I asked him what he was doing and this is what finally cracked the once strong man. He sat me down and explained that the night I was frozen I was taken and forced into the tube full of gas and ice that would freeze me for 100 years and make sure that I wouldn’t remember a thing from it. The gas was supposed to make it seem like it was something I had chosen to do and that it was the best decision I had ever made but it wasn’t quite strong enough to have the same effects on me. Soon after his confession a group of men surrounded the two of us and before I knew it the man was gone. I was taken back to the lab and was shown all that I had gone through. I could not believe everything that had happened to me and I felt like such a fool for being so easily tricked into something like this. I told them that they needed to send me back as soon as possible and they explained to me that that was not an option. I was to live in this new and cruel world for the rest of my time and I could not believe what I was hearing. All I was able to do was to fall onto the floor and cry. I couldn’t imagine living in a place that I had forcefully been thrown into and I could not seem to stop the tears from flowing.

                I soon felt hands shaking me and telling me to get up but I wasn’t going to do what they were telling me to do. The hands continued to fight me until they won and turned me over. I was again blinded by a bright light and I was soon looking up at a face that seemed quite familiar. When I heard the persons voice I knew that I was no longer in the place I had once been and when my vision cleared I looked around and realized that I was in my room and had just been woken up from the worst dream I had ever experienced. My mom asked what I had been dreaming about and I simply told her that it was not a dream that I wanted to become reality.

Journal

Behind her the noise escalated as her back was turned towards the crowd. She anxiously waited for the music to begin and for her first real show to begin. She listened to the crowd chat her name and she could nto believe that she was actually here. It had always been her dream to preform infront of thousands of people and inspire all who listen to here and she was now being given that chance. All this time spent and hard work spend working up to this moment was totally worth it. The longer she waited the tighter she cluthed the microphone. The music began and the stage lit up. She had never felt this nervous but she had also never felt this much of a rush. As the first few words left her mouth the nerves started to subside. She felt like she has been doing this for years and could not imagine doing anything other than this. She loved the way the crowd sang along with her knowing every single lyric to every single song and the way it sounded when she heard the people chating her name. This feeling was like no other and she couldnt wait to experience it again. Her life in the spot light had just began and she could not wait to see what else was in store.