A series of essays….
PLACING ALL OF THE PIECES TOGETHER IN THE RIGHT
SPACES CAN BE A TEDIOUS AND DIFFICULT TASK
….as seen through my eyes!
By: Jacqueline E Hughes
With many connections to various news sources online, it’s easy to get drop-downs on my i-Pad during any given writing session. They highlight what’s going on in the world at the moment and then fold back up (into tiny, dark spaces) only to take me down various rabbit holes later, when there is time to peruse them.
These drop-downs exist for the same reason the current time stamp, day, and date appear in the upper left hand corner of the screen: they keep me aware of what’s happening in the world around me in, for the most part, real time.
Upon occasion, the dynamic news presented on the wallpaper of my Lock Screen can immediately capture my attention and has led me to incorporate this newfound information into stories currently being worked on. As a freshman at Indiana University South Bend, my journalist classes were the foundation for becoming a (creative) writer and a catalyst for my extreme curiosity.
Clinging to the bits and pieces of reality ingeniously fed to me via these news posts, I view the world as the giant jigsaw puzzle that it is. Now it is up to me to decipher the meaning and accuracy of what is presented and choose to dig deeper or not until all of the pieces fit together as one, complete picture. Often, as in real life scenarios, the individual components don’t always add up or even fit together as a precision cut puzzle should. There can be so many rough, misshapen edges made up of lies, hate, hopelessness, fear, uncertainty—sadness.
As I work, a drop-down informs me of yet another school shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia. Four innocent souls are dead. Two students. Two teachers. Nine people injured by gunshot wounds. A fourteen-year-old is responsible. More terrible news to digest. More puzzle pieces waiting for us to twist and turn and try to make fit; trying to make sense out of such horrific actions.
Pinch me because right now I feel numb. Help me feel the acute pain of having children die and families left in limbo asking why—and their lives will never be the same. What fourteen-year-old is justified in thinking that he has the right to change the lives of others, forever?
Another drop-down, this time by National Geographic, tells me that studies show that corn can sweat! Apparently, on a hot day, fields of corn transpiring water, also known as "corn sweat", can raise local humidity levels by 30 to 40 percent. And all that moisture produced by more than 90 million acres of corn nationwide can make temperatures hotter and more miserable. That’s an interesting puzzle piece to be inserted under the title of ‘climate change.’
With the world getting hotter and hotter, we should remind ourselves to ‘byob’ (bring your own bag) while driving down our country roads this summer. You never know when we might be able to fill them up with popcorn from the overheated, sweaty corn fields!
Please don’t worry. I’m not here looking for leprechauns. I found my very own leprechaun named John at the top of the Caha Mountains in County Kerry, Ireland back in 2006.
I’m not here to relate faerie tales about the Good People even when I believe in them, wholeheartedly. It’s important to note that the news is essential to stay informed about what’s going on in the world around us. And often, it’s unavoidable on our social media feeds.
However, news can be stressful, disheartening, and even scary.
Learning how to manage this stress is essential, especially in a world where we’re so connected through technology and social media. Even I know that it’s possible to stop the drop-downs, but I choose to see them and pick and choose what I read afterwards. At least I feel I am directly connected to the world around me.
When these small, white puzzle pieces drop down in front of me to be read as quickly as possible, I collect them in a special place in my head even before they are wrenched from my sight and sucked back up into oblivion. While news can bring up lots of stress for some, reminding yourself of what is in your control and what isn’t can help you create some mental space.
This space is used, wisely. The current puzzles I am working on, while making the pieces fit in some coherent manner, are called my weekly posts. Sometimes each piece is twisted and turned until it fits into its appropriate slot and, I am happy. Fulfilled. This is the world as seen through my eyes!
Copyright © 2024 by Jacqueline E Hughes
All rights reserved
