Big House Rant

I had to perform a rant at the front of the class for an English assignment.
I went to the US for Christmas, and what I saw bothered me.
A lot.
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Alright people, listen up. Big houses are completely unnecessary. They are everywhere you go now. I see that there's you, your spouse, and your dog, and you like to entertain. But unless you are planning on entertaining a horde of orphans, you don't need over 2000 square feet and "bonus rooms." "Oh, but I can't live without my billiards room, man den, 3 or 4 extra bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, work out space, indoor pool, 3 car garage, and 2 dining rooms!" Yes, you can. Get over it. The amount of money and energy you spend on heating and cooling the house could feed thousands of poverty stricken people for months.
People used to make do with under 1000 square feet and those were the families with 5 or more kids. Why is it, that in the past 50 years, the average house size has doubled? Why would anyone need that much space, especially since people have fewer kids than ever before? Let's stop this craziness.
A big house should not be the measure of a person, ever. A trip through modern suburbs, and shows like MTV's Cribs seem to push the idea that a huge house means instant popularity. Not only is that shallow, it also causes people to believe that they are worth nothing because they aren't filthy rich.
I understand that different people have different priorities, really, I do. But it's time people realize that "need" and "want" are two entirely different concepts. Get rid of your extra stuff, downsize, and for godssake, don't bring home anymore of those "reusable" bags. They will not redeem you in the environment's eyes.

Alone

Alone doesn't mean "not with other people."
I have experienced alone.
Alone is when you are utterly isolated in mind and soul.
Alone is like an oceanless beach, dry and safe,
but without danger, what is "safe"?
When you are alone in body, you can dance and be yourself.
It's only when the others arrive that you hole yourself away
where you can hide in plain sight.
Some have wondered what the weight of the soul is.
Alone can give you that answer.
It is as large-heavy-dense as you need it to be in order to escape.
Alone is not bad.
It is you as you know yourself.
It doesn't mean "no friends".
It can mean no peers.
It can mean retreating until you feel
you can share who you are.
Alone is reached by yourself,
an independent achievement.
Alone is okay.

Simplicity

A quiet drop still ripples in a busy pond.

A letter

Good-bye you evil harpie, you wicked witch.
I won't miss you.
If I do feel a twinge of regret, I absolutely refuse to acknowledge it!
You laughed at my normalcy, my life as I knew it. You dragged me off of the deep-end, and until my eyeball was pressed against the bottom drain, you had me so deceived that I still called you friend.
Because of you, little things are what makes the crazy come out. Today, in fact, I laughed and teared-up hysterically because the boy on the intercom sounded like Spongebob. Everyone was being normal, like usual, and I just couldn't stop laughing.
It's all because of you.
Because of you, when I'm brushing my teeth, I make strange faces and end up choking on toothpaste because of my laughter. Every time I giggle, chuckle, laugh, guffaw, hoo-rah I think of you.
You have poisoned my life.
I get strange looks. Me-the serious one, because of seeming bouts of insanity. Sometimes people laugh at me- and I join in.
Because of you, people claim that I've lightened up, have learned to live life to the fullest.
Because of you, get this, I've become "a better person."
And it's all because of you.
Thank you.

To write

Have you ever watched someone write?
Have you ever identified those born calligraphic, with their long liquid strokes, holding the pen like a delicate canary bone, creating art with every waltzing dance of their wrist?
How about those who are destined writers, with their fevered devotion to the words spilling onto the page, with no care to the formation of individual letters, just an energy and tempo so intent?
Have you ever watched those who never learned the fluent language that wrists share with fingers, which translate to the foreign language of the pen? They bend over the paper, fists clenched about the pen, with their mouths agape as they clumsily transfer their thoughts doggedly and with much effort.
Strong hands, soft palms, angled wrists, fingers bent just-so.
Writing might be one of the characteristics of advanced society, but it would be nothing were it not for the thick, thin, strong, weak wrists which faithfully translate thoughts shallow and profound.
These are beautiful things.