Tag Archives: goth

30-day writing challenge: Day 23

24 Wednesday Jun 2015

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Day 23: A letter to someone, anyone

It’s a high school cliché to do this but why not? I’ve decided to write a letter to my future self seeing as I’m young and full of ideas and dreams that will likely fall to the wayside when life gets in the way.

Dear Future Self,

I swear if you turned into a square I will be so pissed.

Remember when things were much simpler? Back in the day in elementary school when you chose your friends based on whether they liked NSYNC or The Backstreet Boys? When you didn’t have to worry about bills? When you dreamed of traveling the world and taking enough pictures to fill a room’s worth of photo albums? Or when you swore to be the eccentric aunt who taught her nephew how to draw and cling to imagination because at the end of the day that’s one of the few things that we will always have.

Taken right after I had the dark teal peek-a-boo highlights put in.

Taken right after I had the dark teal peek-a-boo highlights put in.

Hopefully, you didn’t forget. I do hope you’ve traveled the world and filled each of the 22 slots in your memory card carrying case. I hope you choose friends based on whether they watch Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead. I hope you don’t worry about bills because you always pay them in a timely manner rather than at the last second. Finally, I hope Austin receives a scholarship to an art school because his talent and passion is so great.

Mostly, I hope you’re happy. Maybe living somewhere you’d never thought you’d visit or working for a magazine you’d thought was out of reach. Maybe there’s a guy, maybe there isn’t. But there better not be any cats; I forbid you. Rescue a dog.

Consider this a wake-up call from the ghost of your former self. The person looking through the window during a thunderstorm. The dreamer whose only surgery has been wisdom teeth removal. The student who hates partying and only drinks when curled up in front of her Macbook. The aunt who declares Wednesday a no-go for working because it’s the day she spends with her little man. The artist whose hair is black with dark teal peek-a-boo highlights. The Goth who goes to the grocery store looking like a Tim Burton character because she loves to turn the J.C. Penny loving housewife’s heads. And lastly, the writer who types for life.

Stay weird,

2015 Emily J Ridener

P.S. Seriously, if you have a cat there’s no hope for my future.

30-day writing challenge: Day 2

03 Wednesday Jun 2015

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Day 2: write something that someone told you about yourself that you never forgot

My friend Liz and I met in our News Editing class a few years ago and she’s become a sort of campus mother to not only myself but also many in the journalism department. One day during the Fall 2014 semester she told me something no one had ever told me and I was flattered, thankful and taken aback.

“You do Goth beautifully.” She said. Her comment stemmed from seeing my Facebook posts about Halloween and my mother and I’s costumes for my favorite holiday. We switched personalities and many found it funny seeing as she is the Doris Day to my Wednesday Addams and we couldn’t be anymore different in the style department.

Ironically, one of the weekend radio programs Liz listened to had a segment that Sunday involving either Goth fashion/style or how Goth has evolved over the years. I’m not sure which it was but she told me she thought of me as she was listening and said she feels many people have a more loud or gaudy or even gimmicky approach to Goth style but, in her opinion, I do Goth beautifully.

This may seems small potatoes to people who grew up in a place where you could have the freedom of open expression and didn’t feel the pressure to fit in with everyone else. I’ve mentioned plenty of times the small town I was raised in and it’s hard to find your place when everyone dresses and acts the same. Being the person wondering down the hallways of a high school in all black when everyone is in pastel Hollister and highlights gets challenging. There is a thrill but it gets old being the only one brave enough not to dress as everyone else.

I had always hated the thought of being another brick in the wall.

It’s funny how such a simple statement can make you feel so great about yourself and relieved that at least someone else out there appreciates your sense of self.

The 10 most influential books I’ve read

14 Tuesday Apr 2015

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This came to me by means of a challenge from my high school librarian and book club leader. She tagged me in a post with hers and passed it on to me because I was one of the more active students in the book club all those years ago. We’ve kept in touch via Facebook and this wasn’t the first time she’s tagged me in something relating to reading or books.

I would like to note these are my most influential books at the moment. A huge part of living your life is evolving and as I evolve I am sure this list will alter.200px-hsbhill

1: Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill. It’s my favorite book but I love rock stars, music and ghosts and this little gem combines all three.

2: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Do I really need to explain?

3: Richard III by William Shakespeare. No, not a book but I read it in a book. It’s all about the loopholes. As an admitted Shakespeare nerd, I think Richard III is my favorite mostly because of the opening soliloquy and Richard’s ability to be a silver-tongued master manipulator.

4: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. A classic and starts with one of my all-time favorite hooks, “It was a pleasure to burn.” I know own a copy printed in the sixties as part of my antique book collection.interview-with-the-vampire

5: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. My love of vampires is border line obsessive and they way I turned out is mostly because of Anne Rice’s works. This one is the first really “adult” (by that I mean a huge book with small print and lots of big words for an 11 year-old) I read.

6: Wake by Lisa McMann. In a time when supernatural storylines were beginning to cross into the territory of annoying, Wake became one of those books you remember because it was just different and refreshing.

7: The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling. I can’t choose just one book. This series truly defined my generation and as a self-proclaimed Potterhead I was no exception. These books got me back reading and heighted my love for magic.harry-potter-series

8: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson. I’ve never read such an intricate and detailed mystery that catches you off guard more than once and leaves you running for the next book in the series. And I’ve always been able to identify with the leading lady, Lisbeth, because of how different she is.

9: Mightier than the Sword: How the News Media Have Shaped American History by Roger Streitmatter. This was supposed to be a boring “textbook” for one of Jack Lessenberry’s classes but it turned into one of the best books I’ve had to read for any class I’ve ever had.agoodmanishardtofind_book-botfoj

10: Born on the Fourth of July by Ron Kovic. I had to read this one for one of my freshmen history classes. It was an honest portrayal of a boy growing up with stars in his eyes only for them to burst and fade when he was pushed into the reality of war.

 

 

*Images obtained via Google Images