PHOTO PROMPT © SELF ACTUALIZATION
Life was a giant jigsaw puzzle to him. He’d attempted to fit in, but every time he tried, it seemed that there was a protruding corner, or an unfilled gap. Everyone else knew that the answer to 2 + 2, was 4. For him, it might be ‘Blue,’ or ‘Yesterday.’ This had been going on forever.
He’d finally learned to accept himself for who he was, and not struggle to be acceptable to everyone else. His list of friends was short, but they were all real. They stood together, by standing apart. He liked being a shepherd, not a sheep.
***
Go to Rochelle’s Addicted to Purple site and use her Wednesday photo as a prompt to write a complete 100 word story.
Self-esteem can take a battering when trying to fit into other’s expectations. I like how this ended with a moment of realisation and self-belief.
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So do I. It’s epic.
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Thanx. Just a 100-word slice of autobiography. 🙂
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This is wisdom. I love the last paragraph.
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Thanx. I can’t just write silly stuff all the time. 🙂
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And this is why I read your words.
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Nice sentence: “They stood together, by standing apart.”
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Thanx. I’d like to take credit for it, but…. I might have eventually come up with it on my own. If I steal from one writer, it's plagiarism. If I steal from many, it's research. I took that from a local supermarket COVID warning and repurposed it. 😳
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Frank has chosen my “special take away” from this story. “They stood together, by standing apart.” Powerful.
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Thanx. I thought that was a great thought myself. That’s why I appropriated it at gunpoint, and gave it a false identity. 😳
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I like the sound of him, I never much liked the “sheep”.
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Thanx, I never much liked sheep either. That’s why the wife is having a lamb chop tomorrow for supper, while I have a filet, to celebrate our 53rd wedding anniversary. 😀 🌯
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Happy Anniversary!!!
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We’re gonna keep doing it till we get it right. 😉
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Mm, a beautiful story with a great moral. I love the part about the answer might be “blue” or “yesterday.” I think if we would all be honest we would all admit to seeing the truth in that. Well told.
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Thanx. As I told Jim McEwan, above, this is autobiographical. I appear to be undiagnosed high-functioning Asperger. Not Rain Man, but I definitely have to work to figure out what others are thinking, and expect. You may have noticed that my work is a little non sequitur. 😯
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I hope you had a lovely anniversary! I loved this story, and the character’s realization that other’s opinions don’t count. His list of friends was short, but they were real! Nice!
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We did! Thanx for stopping around to read all about me. 🙂
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I really liked this, Archon. Nice of you to share a bit of yourself, too 🙂
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Thanx Dale. Its only fair turnaround. You’ve told me about you and yours. 🙂
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😊
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Great story. We saw something similar in the picture this week. I like the line “They stood together, by standing apart.”.
-David
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With yours, I am reminded of Harry Potter and the Choosing Hat. “Because you asked.” “
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Yep, knock and the door will be opened.
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Nice. Poe himself wrote the poem “Alone” about how he was different.
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I’m okay with being different, just maybe not as much, or in the way(s), that Poe was ‘different.’ 😯
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Don’t ask me where this quote came from but it fits your story:
“be who you is and not who you ain’t because if you is who you ain’t you ain’t who you is.” You save so much time when you allow yourself to be, but I think a little struggle to figure it out is bound to happen. The blessings are those friends who you can be yourself with. Wonderful story.
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Or, Be yourself. Everybody else is taken.
Thanx for the kind words. 🙂
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You’re very welcome.
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I enjoyed reading this
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I’m glad you did. I enjoyed your comment. So much better than, Are you off your medication – again. 😳
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