Kern Carter's Blog, page 17
December 1, 2022
A Slush to Loathe
Image by Alesha BurtonI wanted to write about snow. Its barrage of thin needles soaking into your skin when the wind blows it across. Its slow dance from the sky in handheld clumps, making the scenery feel as though time has stopped. Its subtle taste to the tongue and blanket to the feet. I wanted to write about snow but I find it joyful.
I will instead write about snow’s snotty-nosed evil younger cousin, slush.
Slush is a monster. A mix of the dirty, yellow snow you’re told to never eat and the idea of a half-frozen freezie. It gunks onto your boots and shoes indiscriminately, following you everywhere until it melts. It slips into said boots and shoes, tingling your feet with dampness.
Icepick cold dampness. Your feet are now submerged in the cold of bare fingers dancing in the wind, all while being entirely covered. The dampness is by far the worst part of the slush experience.
Slush is also hard to walk in. It acts like both snow and ice at the same time. While it gathers on your shoes and provides grip against the plushie snow, it squishes down onto a lumpy and slippery surface. It takes me twice as long to get somewhere when slush is in the equation.
Slush is a nightmare that is force-fed to me every winter.
I write this with snow from a few weekends ago still stuck to the grassy fields and unattended train tracks in Masadam-Yae and Downtown Yonindale. I was caught in the snowfall and the end result was having to walk to the train station with slush in my shoes and snow melting on my eyebrows.
I think to some of my other slush experiences. Walking to my midday exam with a friend. The walk wasn’t silent, but it was quiet. The slush made our shoes soggy and I was asking my shoe-wearing (not boot) friend if she was alright.
Walking through a heavy snowstorm to the bus stop near my co-op workplace. The slush was bad, perhaps worse than the visibility and pins of snow blowing in my face. The bus came late as usual and the bus stop wasn’t cleaned for subsequent days, leaving a soggy mess to anyone who wanted to board.
Walking home at night after a field trip. I misjudged just how cold and how much snowfall would occur, so by the time I got back to school, my feet were just barely recovering from numbness. The bus ride back helped warm my feet up. The sting of the wet cold came back as I walked home.
The only good thing about slush is that it has to snow first. There’s a pleasant feeling to snowfall. Snow clouds glow in the dark, illuminating an otherwise dark sky. Slow glows on the ground, bringing life and light to the dark concrete and asphalt. Snow picks up dirt, cleaning the surrounding areas. It also melts holes into it that air likes to take a rest in whenever it’s warm.
Snow makes itself known in such harmless ways. Ways slush could never.
I know slush will never be pleasant to me. But I genuinely want it to. I want to have a good slush experience, like a little kid frolicking through fields of white dandelions. I want to frolic through slush. It probably won’t happen for now, but I have all winter. I will play the waiting game.
— Heleza
[image error]A Slush to Loathe was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
November 30, 2022
November 29, 2022
Call For Submissions — Happy Holidays?
PUTTING MENTAL HEALTH FIRST
Sometimes I have to remind myself that as much as I love the holidays, for many people, it’s just another day in their lives. And if their lives aren’t great, then that usually doesn’t change when the holidays come rolling around.
I also need to remind myself not to overextend. The pressure to buy gifts, to host, to travel — all of it can feel overwhelming and make you feel like you’re forced to participate even when you’re not capable — mentally or financially.
Since this is CRY, we’re here to discuss the mental. So for this week’s writing prompt, tell me how you will protect your mental health this holiday. What will you do to make sure you get through the holidays in peace?
Same rules as always:You can submit to this or ANY of our past writing prompts. Just scroll through our previous newsletters. They’ll be marked “Call for Submissions.”If you’re already a writer for CRY, go ahead and submit.Be as creative as you want in your submissions. As long as you stick to the topic, we’ll consider it.Just because you submit doesn’t mean we’ll post. If you haven’t heard back from us in three days, consider that a pass.[image error]Call For Submissions — Happy Holidays? was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
November 28, 2022
Hack The Behaviors Of A Confident Person
Photo by Thomas Mowe on UnsplashI’ve read 82+ books, watched 38+ Youtube videos, read 120+ articles on confident people, and combined with my personal observations…
This is what I found:
Polarizing-Every confident person has polarizing views and it's completely FINE! As in they are fearless about their opinions.
They are not afraid to share their insights even if they might get backlash. For example, they would openly claim to like tea when everyone is talking about coffee.
2. Body Language-
If you’ve noticed people closely (not like a creep.. haha), they won’t shy away.
They are confident in how they walk, talk, sit or even order a burger. They seem to be more alert than other people, don’t fold their hands or legs often, etc. Like no fucks giving attitude.
Saying that it's good to be confident, but there is a thin line between confidence and arrogance. So keep a check on that!
3. Personality-
They are comfortable and own themselves.
During these past years, I’ve realized there are 2 categories of people. The first combines people having generic views and opinions, following the crowd tendency. The second one comprises people with unique views, perspectives, and ways of living life.
Now I am not judging either category. To each to their own. But with the growing use of social media and mass consumption, a majority of people’s personalities are getting dulled. They’re so involved in other people’s lives that no one is interested in discovering themselves anymore.
4. Mental Clarity-
This is the most important quality of confident people.
They have somehow trained their brains to work for them instead of working against them. With the over-consumption of information nowadays, our brains are overstimulated. And it becomes difficult to separate crucial wisdom from the trash-filled in the mind.
This is why it's advised to journal or meditate to clear out the trash. Because your mind is clear, your thoughts are clear and you’ll be better at communicating those thoughts resulting in a confident personality.
-Ruchi Nirmal
[image error]Hack The Behaviors Of A Confident Person was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
November 27, 2022
Mid-Life Crisis
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-white-shirt-showing-frustration-3807738/I tried affiliate marketing, and let’s just say; I am not getting the right results. I do not know if it is because I am impatient or because certain things are not in place. I am confused about this lead magnet thing. Like, how does that work? Isn’t putting the affiliate link enough? I am beginning to second-guess this whole digital marketing thing.
I keep asking these questions and get frustrated to the point of quitting. Perhaps that is one area of digital marketing that does not suit me. Even the content marketing that I am doing is happening at a slow pace.
I am getting views on both TikTok and Instagram, but not that many followers. I recently got 204 followers on Instagram and only 17 on TikTok. Not that many people interact on Twitter or Facebook. So much for trying to build an email list.
I am frustrated and confused and feel like crying. I want all this to work, but I am second-guessing myself at this point. Even that experimental blog I set up on WordPress is close to dying because nothing is working. Or rather, it is a lack of consistency, as people say out here.
I am just tired. I want to make money so that I stop being reliant on my family for money and other things. I am trying to be independent, but with the way things are going; I fear how I would survive post-wedding. I am trying to hide my tears because the last time I cried and complained, everyone kept telling me to calm down.
I don’t know if it is my bipolar mind acting up again or if the fear is normal. I tried applying to jobs, and I kept getting rejected or straight up ghosted to where I go, “Fuck you bitches!! I will do this shit myself!!” A lot harder, if I would say.
[image error]Mid-Life Crisis was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
