Blind Response

As the darkness intensifies so do my senses and self-awareness. The dryer is tumbling the children's clothes and the echoes of laughing children is still present. 

The heater roaring away trying to keep my home warm yet fails to keep my heart warm and content. My heartbeat is stomping away from my chest. 

The children are off to school so the home is missing something. My stomach roars begging me to feed it. The cell phone is practically screaming for me to pick it up and even though I can't see it with my eyes, I quickly find it as my ears guide my every move. 

Surprisingly I am able to walk around my home as if my eyes were wide open. Though physically all I see is dark, I can see and feel everything around me.

 As I pass through the hallway, I can visualize all the art work of my precious children. My daughter's first time writing her name in the wall is still present. The cracks on the wall when the children played baseball inside the home doesn't upset me anymore and comforts me. 

My eyes see darkness yet my heart sees light. Life embraces this home. Memories of young children give this home life even when they are not present. Life makes this house a home and that gives my heart comfort and peacefulness.

“The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula Le Guin

In “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula Le Guin the author describes a fantasy world in which everything seems perfect and happiness is prosperous in the city of Omelas. The author expresses that Omelas is not a dream city. It is real and it does exist and people are abundantly happy there. The story explains that the only resolution to happiness such as a place like Omela is to turn your back on pain and unhappiness but being happy also has a dark side since it sometimes requires selfishness. In the story the author mentions a child that was not seen as perfect by the people at Omelas so they had the child locked up away from the society of Omelas and the condition for being happy in Omela is to keep the child there away from everyone and the outside world since he represents something that is unknown and not perfect to the people there. It seems as though the people in Omelas do not believe in change or do not accept the unknown because they feel it will shatter their happiness and destroy the city and the people there so why should they even try.


It seems there is no resolution in either “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula LE Guin or in “Hills Like White Elephant” by Ernest Hemingway. Both stories leave the reader in suspense and allow the reader to come up with somewhat of their own conclusion regarding the plot, outcome, and significance of the story although “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” seems to be more developed than “Hills Like White Elephants”. The difference between most popular stories and this one is that most stories the plot is more developed and the outcome and the conclusion are more direct and less confusing and in “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula Le Guin, the plot is mainly describing the city of Omelas and how happy people were there but it never clearly explains why most people are there and why some people leave and never come back.


Personally, I don’t know if I would walk away from Omela or just try to influence their way of thinking by speaking my mind. Even though the city of Omelas seems like a dream city that represents happiness to most people, it would not represent happiness to me because to me, happiness comes from having freewill and making a difference in life to be remembered and helping people in need no matter if the rest of society finds it acceptable or not. Omelas represented what most might think represents happiness but happiness comes from within, and what makes one person happy might not make another person happy. Happiness to me represents having experiences whether painful or not and the challenges we face in getting through obstacles in life and moving forward. 


I believe the people in the story saw the child that was locked up and walked away from Omelas because they saw that the price of happiness was to be selfish and destroy anything that represented a challenge or imperfection. They might of felt that they, as well, were being deprived of freedom as they were being taught by the city what represented happiness and they felt disgusted with what was done to the child who was being punished simply for being different than what was considered to be normal and what was considered to be a representation of happiness. 


Omelas has some significance in this world today because some people still prefer to turn their back on the truth and refuse to accept change or anything that is different than what is considered normal. Society has taught us what behaviors are acceptable and what is unacceptable. We have been conditioned to believe that the way to be happy is to be selfish. On the other hand Omelas talks about the way most people in the past might have lived without technology advances and without abundance of knowledge. Life was more simple back then so it seemed like people were happier but it was only an illusion and only a dream, because in reality, they were hiding the truth and trying to get rid of pain by putting their problems away, while the problem was not the imperfections, but the ignorance of the city’s way of thinking. Today people are more accepting of change and of what’s different yet ignorance still exists. Today’s version of happiness is different than what was considered happiness in the past and in places such as the Omelas but one thing that never ceases to change within humanity is the fear of the unknown.

SNOW

The first time I saw snow was when I was about eight years old in Hoopeston, Illinois. My family and I were Migrants and we would live in Illinois for half of the year every year. Sometimes we would stay longer until December and that was a great advantage because we got to experience the sensation of seeing snow. 

The first time I felt snow was amazing. I was wearing several layers of clothing and a snow suit. My mom would always bundle me and my brother up during the winter days before she sent us off to school. I hated it because all the layers made it hard to walk but she would always say, "abrigate y cubrete el pecho porque te va pegar un resfriado (cover yourself up because you're going to get sick with a cold)." Mom was always convinced that colds were caused by people not wearing enough layers during the cold winter days. 

I walked to school with my best friend Janitta looking like an astronaut with my arms sticking out and then all of a sudden I felt a snowflake. I didn't know what it was at first. It felt cold and then wet. I thought it was starting to rain. My friend and I started running fast to school thinking it was going to rain and then we saw white flakes covering the streets. We stopped to look at it. I told my friend, "I don't think this is rain, its too beautiful too be rain." We stood there just staring at it while it fell to the ground like a delicate piece of art, so white, pure and beautiful. 

The next day on Saturday, the whole town was covered in snow. I didn't wear my snowsuit that day because I figured it would be hard to move, and I made my first snowman with my friends. We played all day in the snow and laid in it so we could feel it. It was so cold, but we didn't care because it was so much fun and beautiful to watch. I should have listened to my mom though, because the next day we were all sick with fever. It was all worth it and if I had to do it all over again I would, except this time I would wear my snowsuit (LOL).

I NEED A JOB!!! Where Can I Find a Job? Are there any jobs out there for College Students?

Don't you think its ironic that a college student with a degree can't find a job in America? Well, unfortunately its true. Our economy is suffering big time and unemployment continues to sky rocket regardless of what the media/news feeds you. 


If people with a college education can't find a job, can you imagine what it must be like for other people without an education. I mean, here we are told that college graduates are more likely to succeed in life and earn a higher pay salary throughout their lifetime than a person without an education and then we are faced with the realization that there is not enough jobs for everyone not even college grads. 


Its like a stab in the back and the realization that things are headed for the worst. I've been struggling to find a job(yes a woman with a college degree can't find a job..lol). The economy must be bad if even I can't find a job. There's plenty of jobs available that don't require education but no one will hire me because I'm overqualified. Wow! The tables have turned. 


Today it seems like the statistics regarding job income for college vs no college are not the same as they used to be. I am starting to think I wasted time in college but its too late now. It seems like the jobs available now are either underpaid or we are overqualified. I wonder if I can omit my college education and if it will increase my chances of getting a job. I just want a job,any job is ok but since this is not working out, I decided to start an experiment and see if it works.  

I Will be self-employed and I will write and publish for a living online. 

If you've been following or reading my blog articles, you can see that I don't publish often. I usually write from 2 to 3 articles a month or less, but I still managed to make a few bucks with Google AdSense. 


If you don't know what Google AdSense is, I suggest you read this book called 


Essential: About Google Adsense !  

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Google AdSense is not a get-rich scheme, you have to work very hard to  make any money at all and you usually only make money when people click on your ads.

I've heard from other bloggers that in order to make a living out of writing online, you have to make a commitment to do it like if it was a regular 9-5 job. You have to write everyday or at least update your website or articles everyday. You have to be extremely active online with participation and dedication. I haven't exactly done this and this is why I believe I haven't been successful as a freelance writer and poet. 

I don't want to monetize what I love doing but I am a single mom and I need to feed my children and this is the best way I can think of that will allow me to share knowledge and my love for poetry, music, and information with others while still having the job of my dreams. Self-employment is almost every good mom's dream.  

I Will continue answering and asking questions at WebAnswers

In case you don't know what this is, WebAnswers.com  is an information Beta website in which users get to answer questions and if the answer gets chosen as the best, then you earn from the ads. In other words you help other people by answering their questions and sharing your knowledge and you get paid. Another way to make money with WebAnswers is to ask questions. It's a good way to earn money. 


In fact, since I joined, I've seen some increased changes in my online earnings. You do not need to have a Google Adsense account to join WebAnswers, however, after you answer 50 questions, you are given the option of applying with Google Adsense.  


To learn more you can go to www.webanswers.com and start helping others with your knowledge and information. The great thing about webAnswers is that you choose what questions you want to answer and you can even ask any questions you want.

I Will focus my attention on Rich Content

Most of my articles consist of songs or poetry that I write. I will continue to write as much as I can and write about other things that are on my mind or that can help people. I do admit though that I don't like to stick with one topic so my articles vary from each other but most of my articles have rich original content. 


I try to express my opinions and views on life as much as possible on my articles. As for my poetry, it doesn't get any personal than that. In fact, my poetry and music is a reflection of who I am as a person and what my thoughts, feelings, and beliefs and views are.

I Will expand my Content and expand my writing


Since I started writing online, I have only written on my blog and made a couple of youtube videos but nothing major. My plan is to write for other webpages such as wordpress, hubpages, online magazines, forums..etc..anything that will allow my content to expand. I will continue updating, writing, and building up my blog The Vane D Dayz but I don't want to limit myself to this blog only.


I Will Invest in my Online Self-Employed Business


What I mean when I say "invest" is that any business needs advertising of some form without being annoying to others. By investing in forms of advertising such as AdWords, it will help my websites to be indexed at the top of the search engines. I either invest with money or I invest with time such as using free tools to drive more traffic to my website. 


One great tool that has already helped bring traffic to my site is Pingomatic.com. Everytime I make changes to my blog or I post a new article, I enter my url and it automatically sends a message to the search engines that my website is updated. This helps to index my website and blog so that people can find my blog when they search for a particular topic.

I will Be more Serious and Take Action


When I first started my blog, my purpose was to share my music, poetry, songwriting with the world. I never even thought I could make any money with my website and I didn't take it that serious. It wasn't until a few months after starting my blog that I realized I could make money online and I noticed that the more effort I put into it, the more revenue I generated. 


Of course there has been times when I don't make anything at all and that has gotten me discouraged several times but I am not known to be a quitter. I will give it all I got and if I fail it will not be because I didn't try. I owe it to my children to at least give it a try and if I succeed it will prove that hard work does eventually pay off.


I Will read and learn as I work


One of the greatest things about being human is that we never stop learning. Even when we feel we know what we are doing, there is always something new we need to learn and improve. The web keeps changing every minute so learning and staying up to date with everything will help in building up an online business.


 Even Attorneys don't know everything and they must constantly keep up with the fast changing laws by practicing law and keeping up with changes for as long as their career is active so why should it be different for anyone else.


I Will Be More Social


As a busy mom, I rarely have time for making friends or meeting people outside of my home. Its very lonely to be me..lol..and there's times when I just feel like giving up on my social life and continue writing but I know this is hurting me more than anything. How are people going to know who I am if I don't socialize more. 


It might seem impossible but I know I could put more effort into going out more and meeting with other people that have similar interests as me. This will not only help me develop healthy relationships that may last a lifetime, but it will also enrich my writing as I am exposed to different experiences and a different atmosphere.


I will not forget my Main Purpose 


My main purpose for this online journey has and will always be to share my poetry, music, and information with others that may inspire or help others. I feel as though the only way to make this possible is if I dedicate my time to do just this but I must remember that its not about the money at all. All that I want is to be able to provide for my children while still following my dreams and goals in life. That doesn't make me a bad person that just makes me normal. 


If it was up to me, money would not exist and everything would be free. Unfortunately it was a generation of humanity that let this happen and in order to fix this we must learn how to be self-sustainable. In the meantime, these bills keep piling up and someone has to work to pay for them. We could go on and on about these social political issues but that's a whole different topic that should be included in another article and believe me, I will soon. I have alot on my mind that I need to share with the world and I know the best way I can communicate is through writing, poetry, and music.