Stream of Consciousness

Another Day

Author's Note: In this stream of consciousness we started with the word pigeon and added words from classmates.  I wrote a realistic fiction piece about going to work.  In this piece I tried to keep everything present tense because that is something I have been struggling with for stream of consciousness.  I tried to create a clear image in my head for me to write off of.  

The slippery sidewalks border the busy streets as the entire heads to work.  The air is filled with the stench of pollution and coffee, fresh from skyscrapers and office buildings.  Pigeons line the bushing picking up left over bits of food dropped from pedestrians.  We enter the tall building ready for another day.  Mornings are slowly slipping by as the sun shines through the crevices of the walls, waking up everyone.  A beautiful world outside is waiting for us, and we all long to get out of work soon.  In the work place we are professional and we don't show the child inside of us that is itching to run out of our office and roll in the grass.  During all the rush of the morning, I sit there thinking when really I should be doing work.  How can I focus with the police cars' sirens and honking horns in front of me.  The only day this entire week that isn't cloudy and I am sitting here doing nothing.  I am told to work on my latest project, but I can't right now; I am out of focus.  Instead I look out toward the clear blue skies.  Little birds cross the sky line with their families.  Five little children too young to go to school are there with what seems like family that got off from work.  They are very lucky to have that opportunity.  Just until four, I think to myself.  I decide to work on projects for a while since it is noon.  Some of my fellow workers went off to lunch so the office sounds lonely right now.  I should go but I haven't gotten anything done yet.  Since it's morning the morning dew makes the surface cold and wet.  Why even bother, I tell myself.  Sketching my ideas over and over again papers fill my desk and I am unable to see the table.  Underground the subway is loud and I can hear them taking off to go uptown.  From the beginning of the day I felt like I should take off of work because I desperately needed a break -- only a break for some fun.  I wanted to clean up my house a bit since leaves fell all over my yard yesterday.  Today my be the only day before the city gets plunged into winter.  I can see myself swiftly pushing all the leaves into a pile jumping into them and burying myself in colorful joy.  The world is too mean to let me.  I can't concentrate so I carefully pick up all my sketches and file them into a binder.  Now it is three thirty and the nights approach sooner now.  I can see little stars; beyond the stars I can see the planets and one I don't think I have ever seen.  I wonder what that world is like.

The Koi Pond

Author's Note: This stream of consciousness started with the word fish.  In this piece I tried to keep everything present tense as it's supposed to be, because I have a hard time writing that way.  I also try to a be more descriptive to create a better image of what I saw.  Run-ons were something that I have been trying to avoid, too.

Traveling can help you see the world differently and find new things you have never seen before.  As odd as it is I have never seen fish in a pond.  Where we live, it is cold; a fish would not stand a chance outside.  Down in Texas, the air was humid but a small breeze kept the Earth nice, so it didn't feel gross at all. 

My aunt loved seeing us, because she only saw us once or twice a year.  As we walked around the house I noticed a Koi pond through her window.  She didn't feed her fish earlier that day so we went outside to see them.  The pond was lined with stone and the palm leaves created a canopy over the top.  We sat on the stones and watched the fish swim.

There were so many fish and so many colors -- a beautiful sight to see.  I had never seen anything like it.  As we tossed their food into the water, I watched them race to get them.  Their circular mouths inhaled the food and it was a unique and incredible sight.  It was different seeing them swimming under and over each other and ducking below the lily pads.

I noticed that one of them had a pink, flower like piece stuck to its eyes.  I asked my aunt what it was and she said it was a tumor.  The tiny, red fish swam like all the others, but it look discomforted.  I felt bad for the little fish and I hoped it would live even though it had a major road block in its life. 

Some are better off than others, but it's the way your choose to keep living that counts.  There are two roads in front of you, it's up to you from there.  Like the little red fish, you need to keep moving forward.  If you don't break your barrier, you'll never find what could have been.  Life is life, and only you can change yours.

 Firework

Author's Note: For literature group we tried the stream of consciousness; it started with the word moon and from there I created a short piece.  In this piece I am trying to create a clear picture of that moment in time.  I am focusing on using climatic patterns and repetitive patterns.  This piece depicts a Fourth of July night.

As the sun sets in the west, we lay outside on the picnic blankets.  Fireflies light up the sky as the world blacks out for the night.  Up in the sky a beautiful lantern is still hanging, calming the mood for this evening.  Leaves rustle, birds whistle, and the breeze calms.  We sit together enjoy the company of our families and neighbors. 

The night is young and we are together. One big family -- all our neighbors and random people we don't know become closer because of one family.  We sit on the lawn this July, waiting in anticipation.  All of us waited until the fourth day and it is finally here.  Nothing, not even those pesky mosquitoes will ruin the moment.  The fireworks explode above us, but the moon is still the most beautiful.

Shining brighter than all the stars in the sky.  All of us laugh together, dance together, and love together.  This one night celebrates the freedom of America, and what's better than celebrating it together, especially if it's the last night together?  

Even thought the fireworks of many colors burst in the sky, we don't care too much about them.  The company with us is better, more important, and why we are here.  Catching the moment through the lenses of our cameras is the only memory of this that we can ever see again. 

Every Fourth of July will be different than the last, but I recall this one being the most memorable.  If you were there, you'd say the same.  My best friend and I were together for the rest of the night waving to all the cameras trying to freeze the moment.  That's were it ended -- the photographs.