In the following post, I am writing two 250-word micro fiction pieces. In the first piece, I am incorporating a line from Gloria Anzaldua's poem, Borderlands, to inspire a story. The line I have chosen from Anzaldua's piece is: "I hear the tussling of bodies, grunts, panting." In the second piece, I will base a story off of one of my own tweets from Twitter: "I love being home and with my family. There's never a dull moment."
The line I have chosen from Gloria Anzaldua's poem is: "I hear the tussling of bodies, grunts, panting."
I hear the tussling of bodies, grunts, panting restlessly throughout the barracks. The sleepless nights, the sounds of tears, and the endless wait to return home. Desperately wanting to be with loved ones but at the same time knowing this is part of my duties in the United States military. Imagine yourself surrounded by creepy crawlers hiding in your boots, your locker, and even in your bed! At night sleeping in dirty, sandy bunks and not having the luxury to bathe everyday. Imagine the places that sand ends up. A decent meal is often out of the question. Just boiled chicken and rice for the next six months. Thinking to yourself, but I’m starving and I just got here. Looks like no quick runs to McDonald’s for a double cheeseburger and fries. Hot summer days wearing thick camouflage uniforms and heavy boots. Packs on your back containing all your necessary equipment and weapons. Sweat beating down your face and not being able to breathe from the intense heat. Hearing the shrill sounds of sirens indicating there has been an attack near your base. Even the sound of explosions when trying to sleep, with the walls shaking all around you in this old decrepit building that’s falling to shambles. Knowing that everyone you see around you can easily vanish and leave no trace behind. One by one. Having lunch with a few guys one day and the next they are gone. The unfortunate realization that everything can change with a blink of an eye
The tweet I have chosen from my Twitter account is: "I love being home and with my family. There's never a dull moment."
Whoever thought that having four older brothers would be such a bad thing. But to be truthful it definitely wasn’t. I wouldn’t change it for the world. At first, I was the center of attention because I was the only girl but eventually that didn’t matter. There was never a dull moment while growing up. From throwing the baseball around, going on bike rides throughout the park, to even visits to the emergency room. What child would bother a dog that was sleeping? That would have been me! I ended up with over a hundred stitches on my nose. It was always fun and exciting. Don’t you agree? Don’t get my wrong I did do girly things with my mom or girlfriends. Such as, playing tea party or teaching to my stuffed animals all the lessons I had learned in school that day. But who would have thought that a girl who could be a ‘prissy princess’ (according to my father) could also be just as tough as one of the boys. Always talking back and standing up for myself. I made sure no one took advantage of me. I was known as the loud mouth! Though I may have found it necessary to state my opinion about everything, it didn’t mean I didn’t flak in return. I do have to admit that I love being home and with my family. There’s never a dull moment. At the dinner table you can hear my brothers and I bickering back and forth about everything and anything. I couldn’t ask for a better family.
The line I have chosen from Gloria Anzaldua's poem is: "I hear the tussling of bodies, grunts, panting."
I hear the tussling of bodies, grunts, panting restlessly throughout the barracks. The sleepless nights, the sounds of tears, and the endless wait to return home. Desperately wanting to be with loved ones but at the same time knowing this is part of my duties in the United States military. Imagine yourself surrounded by creepy crawlers hiding in your boots, your locker, and even in your bed! At night sleeping in dirty, sandy bunks and not having the luxury to bathe everyday. Imagine the places that sand ends up. A decent meal is often out of the question. Just boiled chicken and rice for the next six months. Thinking to yourself, but I’m starving and I just got here. Looks like no quick runs to McDonald’s for a double cheeseburger and fries. Hot summer days wearing thick camouflage uniforms and heavy boots. Packs on your back containing all your necessary equipment and weapons. Sweat beating down your face and not being able to breathe from the intense heat. Hearing the shrill sounds of sirens indicating there has been an attack near your base. Even the sound of explosions when trying to sleep, with the walls shaking all around you in this old decrepit building that’s falling to shambles. Knowing that everyone you see around you can easily vanish and leave no trace behind. One by one. Having lunch with a few guys one day and the next they are gone. The unfortunate realization that everything can change with a blink of an eye
The tweet I have chosen from my Twitter account is: "I love being home and with my family. There's never a dull moment."
Whoever thought that having four older brothers would be such a bad thing. But to be truthful it definitely wasn’t. I wouldn’t change it for the world. At first, I was the center of attention because I was the only girl but eventually that didn’t matter. There was never a dull moment while growing up. From throwing the baseball around, going on bike rides throughout the park, to even visits to the emergency room. What child would bother a dog that was sleeping? That would have been me! I ended up with over a hundred stitches on my nose. It was always fun and exciting. Don’t you agree? Don’t get my wrong I did do girly things with my mom or girlfriends. Such as, playing tea party or teaching to my stuffed animals all the lessons I had learned in school that day. But who would have thought that a girl who could be a ‘prissy princess’ (according to my father) could also be just as tough as one of the boys. Always talking back and standing up for myself. I made sure no one took advantage of me. I was known as the loud mouth! Though I may have found it necessary to state my opinion about everything, it didn’t mean I didn’t flak in return. I do have to admit that I love being home and with my family. There’s never a dull moment. At the dinner table you can hear my brothers and I bickering back and forth about everything and anything. I couldn’t ask for a better family.