Tag: #Monologue

It’s five am, my alarm rings, I wake up redundantly and prepare for a long day of heat and toil. Am I going to build financial A.I or work for a global nonprofit? No, I am going to sell Belgian waffles at some kid’s three million dollar twelfth month old birthday party. Younger, I would ponder: “why did my father, a successful interior designer, choose to drop everything to found a waffle company?”. This was mostly do to my sheer hate of the tedious necessities of running a business. To be frank the first 2 years of most businesses are tough, a business is almost so demanding that the owners work for it rather than the other way around. I will never forget the many hectic multi-day work days of the young company. Those 24-48 hour non-stop shifts were the biggest wake up calls of my life and taught me hard work pays off. I have matured since the founding of the company, as I see I have progressed along with the company. I understand now that the complexities of a business is equally present in large tech companies as it is in a growing franchise and greatly developed my character. As I have seen the progression of a small company from selling on cold streets in small carts, to opening storefronts and catering VIP events, I can be proud to say that I was part of it. In sum, this little waffle company taught me that if you take anything seriously and work hard to innovate and expand it, anything is possible. My father would always tell me, “take every job seriously and think of it as an opportunity, even if you are a garbage man. With time you can find an innovation or issue that could be the basis of a successful company”. Thousands of waffles later I can fully appreciate that principle through personal experience.

Thank you, and let no one tell you what area to focus on, all fields have avenues for growth; from garbage collection to algorithmic trading software.

Catastrophic luck

Calamitous fate

Cataclysmic by nature

 

All just a part of the ebb and flow

The cadence of survival

A morbid truth

 

On the other side of the kaleidoscope lies

A more pleasant side to things

Like pots of gold at the end of a rainbow

 

But when you try to have a rainbow without a little rain

Unsettling

Like a precarious concoction of venom

Inching closer to your lips

Or like the moment you realize

you left your wallet at home

 

A generation of dopamine addicts

 

An age

Where J. Cole has more followers than God

And there are more genders than there are harry potter books

Where it makes sense to people to build a wall for protection

A week later a notorious criminal escapes by a tunneling through his cell

 

When eating becomes a hobby

And socializing means waiting for a text back

There’s a problem

Happiness needs constant inertia

Yet stress and dissatisfaction just seem constant period.

Sometimes you just gotta take a break

Humble yourself

So you’re ready to raise a little hell

 

When time comes for me to put on the pine overcoat

The last thing I’ll be thinking about is my regrets

Somewhere along the way I decided I just wanted to have a good time

And have fun while I’m at it.

 

Parents always tell kids they know better

because they’re older

and wiser

You know I was your age once, what I tell you I learned from experience.

Well if that’s case, why not try to experience everything?

Be the darn wisest old man

Stepping out of the front door as the birds serenade the morning sky. I stretch my arms as far as they go and slowly open the gate and press play on my phone.

As soon as the bass hits my eardrum, I’m off

I run down the street, onto the next, until I reach the end of town. 

Then onto the next.

Taking a moment to appreciate the different shades of green in the trees planted along the concrete. Looking at all the tiny details that make up the building down the block. 

I take a moment to humble myself,

so that later I’ll be ready to raise a little hell.

I still have to write my monologue

And I only have 5 minutes left

But the joke’s on you

This is the easiest assignment possible

They said I could write about anything

And so I will

 

I’m writing all this nonsense

Yet I’m still completing the task

And I’m completing this task

By writing more nonsense

And yes I did just repeat myself

But I still need more words

 

Most people wrote poems

So I’ll give my best effort

Roses are red

Violets are blue

Lemons are yellow

Oranges are orange

 

I still got two minutes to spare

And I hope I wrote enough to satisfy

I just clicked on word count on google docs

It said I have 106 words

And now it’s 120 words

 

I think after this assignment

I’m going to appreciate FRO more

Only one minute left

Copy, Paste, and Publish

“Life is full of uncertainty and expectation”

This quote was all too relatable to me in my senior year of high school

It was late May when this girl I had never spoken to before and I were placed into the same sentence

It was the day of my History IB/AP exam when a close friend of mine had startled me with the following words…

“Did you know that she is interested in you?”

Those words remained in my head as I took the test and constantly troubled me

It was only a week afterwards that I found out she was joking around, but it was no longer a joke to me

The next time our paths intertwined was at a party that concluded our high school career

Her words triggered a very bold yet apprehensive response from me, which was to go up and ask for her SnapChat

From there, the rest of my story unfolds…

 

 

Sword and the stone. A Disney movie I loved as a kid. To summarize a kingdom lost it’s king and the next ruler is to be chosen by pulling a sword out of a stone. The sword is special because it can only be pulled from the stone by one with a pure heart.

I loved the movie not because Arthur, the main character, obviously pulled the sword, but because he learnt. Arthur already had innocent humble open personality but that doesn’t mean he is perfect. Merlin, Arthurs mentor, showed Arthur how the world worked and how vast it is.

I long to have a mentor like Merlin who will teach me. But unlike the movie where the plot pushed Arthur to his greatness and mentor, reality relies upon the individual to get out of his comfort zone and start somewhere. I have not made that step yet, and I am not ready. But I know that that i will in time pull the sword from the stone.

 

 

 

When you grow up as a first generation American, you have a different perspective of the world. You see people murmuring racist slurs and imitating your parents’ accent. You see the surprised face expressions when you speak fluent English. You see your parents fight and shed tears to earn money to support you. You feel useless as you try to translate things you don’t understand to your parents. You feel angry seeing the way people treat and undermine your parents. You feel sorry for not living up to their expectations and not achieving their American Dream. You feel frustration when they apologize and say, “I’m sorry for not being able to support you 100%.” That sentence always makes me feel like shit. “No, don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault.” I want to say, but those words mean nothing at that point. We just stare at the floor, desperate and wondering what lies ahead of us. What type of struggle we’re going to face next. But I have hope. I know that we can make it through, because we have each other. As long as we stick as a family, we can achieve anything, maybe one day we can even achieve the American Dream.

So much stuff to do, so many responsibilities to keep
I just want to stay in bed, I just want to sleep
This is my monologue due in an hour
To write up a piece in time would be a superpower
The prompt is to write about anything, anything I want
It could be the last movie I watched, or even my favorite restaurant
I’m sitting here craving food
Looking for anything to put me in the mood
I need to dig deep to figure out what to write
Because I’m staring at a few words right now, rest of the page still white
Looking around my room for a topic to inspire me
I need some content, so I’m opening up my TV
I keep stalling for time, I really need to focus
Or else I’m just going to end up writing 2 minutes worth of bogus
I think about what I ate in the last few days
Can’t write about fish or my sandwich with mayonnaise
I try to picture if I did anything great
Recently, I’ve just been sleeping in late
I really need to think of a subject, I find my family to talk to
Damn I need to hurry up, I have 30 minutes before this is due
Oh no my battery is running low
If it dies, I won’t have a monologue for FRO
I’m really procrastinating, is this the last thing I need to complete?
It is, ok, good job I deserve a treat
I have those mini chocolates sitting in my fridge
And in my closet, I have those cookies from Pepperidge
I don’t have time to choose one, so why not both
And maybe a cup of milk too, it’s healthy for my growth
So I’m sitting there eating a mini Kit Kat bar
And I’m running out of time to submit this for freshmen seminar
To see if I missed anything, I do a quick homework review
Doing this English reading, and for math, finding revenue
Now that I did all these things, I have a clear mind
I just want to go to bed, and fully unwind
It’s been a long productive day, and I have no reason to pout
Except for the fact, I still have nothing to write about

My most routine walk would have to be my commute from Grand Central to school. I often enjoy looking at the beautiful architecture of the older buildings on Park Avenue or the quaint storefronts on Lexington Avenue. I’ll look at the fellow commuters and reflect on the weather of the day. Is it hot or cold? Is it bright or dark out? Walking for me is more than just a way to get to the vertical campus though, it is also a way to clear my head and regroup after a strenuous week. I take comfort knowing that I can walk through Central Park and look at the skyline on Billionaire’s Row or at Wollman Rink in the winter and see all the vibrant colors of the buildings at night mixed with the colors of the rink itself. Walking allows me to take a step back and just admire the beauty around me. There are no worries or imminent problems and I can observe the world around me almost from the outside. Whereas with school I have to pay attention to assignments and due dates for upcoming projects, when I walk I can just relax and be one with my surroundings. Usually, I will walk for a few minutes at a time, then I will sit down and look at my surroundings, trying to memorize what is going on at the time. I enjoy walking around many places like museums or around Midtown where there is a lot going on. I feel like I blend in and I like the stimulation of everything going on around me. Walking allows me to notice things that I would not have noticed before like a new restaurant, store, or place that I want to go back to in the future. While walking to many may seem boring, it is very exciting for me to be able to breathe the fresh air of the city and learn as I go. Walking gives me a chance to explore new areas in a way that driving or taking a bus through wouldn’t. It helps me connect to my surroundings and experience the culture firsthand. I often find things I don’t expect to like graffiti on the side of a building or a new park that I didn’t know about before. The vibrant colors of a new neighborhood burst into my eyes and I am often in amazement when I walk into a place and I’m seeing it for the first time. Even places that I have been to countless times still amaze me. The greenery of Central Park makes me in awe every time I see it. The beauty of the Plaza Hotel both on the inside and out makes me feel happy knowing there is still that old school regal hotel in the midst of all the new towering steel and glass buildings. Walking around Chinatown makes me feel like I’m in another part of the world and going to my sneaker stores is an adventure every time I walk in. Walking opens you up to unexpected adventures. I often times even meet many of my idols while walking whether it be e-commerce pioneers, NBA players, supermodels, and everything in between. Some of my fondest memories are walking with my Mom and just talking about the news and what is going on with school and everything. With life being so hectic, walking gives me a chance to calm down, take in the views, and just let go of all my troubles.

I have this one friend.
Known her for 8 years and we are close.
Very close because you know what they always say.
Keep your friends close but your enemies closer.
When we see each other, we don’t say nice greetings or nice words to each other.
Every time we speak to each other, the word, “hoe” always appear somewhere along the lines.
We always fight over petty stuff, like who should carry the stuff, “accidentally” stepping on each other, or who bought this first because we had the same school bag back in high school and we always argue who bought it first and who copied who.
None of us ever backs down on an argument because we hate losing to each other.
This has been going on for 8 years; bricking back and forth, we still have beef with each other and will continue to have in the future.
But this 8 years of fighting each other was also our 8 years of friendship.

Born and raised in the wonderful place of New York City, I’ve come to learn that this city is different from every other city in America. In this great place, we’re blessed with clear quality water that flows through the Hudson River and along the sanitized beaches. Anything you buy in this city compared to any other city has a higher quality which justifies the jacked up cost and the tax. You can never have enough of the weather here as it changes in the blink of an eye. When it snows you’ll always get more than what is expected. Snow here is also accompanied by the lovely patches of black slush and huge puddles that we all love to step in. Traffic in this city is never a problem, roads are always easy to navigate, and the MTA really cares about its customers. The housing here is also really affordable, with the average square foot in NYC being $424 and Manhattan $1,538. Not only is the housing affordable, but hot coffee is actually cheaper than ice coffee here. With all this, there’s totally no other city that comes close to beating the so-called “City That Never Sleeps” in a sleeping contest.