Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Confessions.
My Boss Fell in Love With Me and Laid Me Off
Regret made me goofy. Sorrow gave me an enigmatic flavor. I was out of heart The existence of conscience makes the claws of regret sharp. And the stronger one, the deeper the other can penetrate a sensitive flesh. The depressing influence of this feeling creates the sensation of a jail in a living body. This emotion casts a grim look on life. The damp atmosphere that regret creates is suffocating. We need to learn how to dispel the smog from the past and at the same time to keep our hearts from being dried up.
By Olya Aman5 years ago in Confessions
I Am Not Her Negro
This was the scene. I had just watched the movie “I Am Not Your Negro” at the AMC Forum in Montreal. I quite liked it; many of the clips used to trace important moments in the life of the writer James Baldwin were material I had seen online or on TV programs too far back in my youth to forget them. What surprised me the most was the general premise of the movie: Baldwin intended to write a book based on the lives of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Medgar Evers. He knew all three men. He understood what they represented for black America and how they were molded and formed by their relationship to white America. And he saw that all three men wanted the same things: respect, opportunities, and hope for themselves, their communities, and their families. Those dreams would not always be granted in their lives, but it was earned in their deaths and the legacies they left to be discussed and debated. The moments when Baldwin’s own responses to their losses are shared by Samuel L. Jackson are very moving; some of the most powerful moments in the film have no visible action on the screen except his voice repeating Baldwin’s own deep feelings. And because of these moments, I considered the film a true success. The audience seemed to feel that way, too, although I could not measure all of the individual opinions next to mine. It was a movie I had to watch without being conscious of any after-credits discussion about its merits, problems, and what it was all meant. I never thought about what it meant. I thought about how I felt. I thought about James Baldwin. I thought that I had to see it again.
By Kendall Defoe 5 years ago in Confessions
Sunergy
I started working here in April 2018. I was hired as an inspection tech for $20/hourly. I thought this was great given my install and inspection experience. On day 1 I already found myself butting heads with my “supervisor” (not my hiring manager). This girl would add additional calls to my schedule with no knowledge or care of what jobs truly needed. She only demanded miracles out of me as she would say: “it HAS to be done today!”
By Blake Edward5 years ago in Confessions
My Inner Writer
I hate the word productive. It was the word my mom used to tell me she was disappointed in my choices. “I wasn’t using my time in a productive manner” or “You should learn to knit, because that would be more productive,” she would say. And so, I have a constant need to feel like I have spent my time wisely and a fear of wasting my time; fear of procrastinating or vegging out, yet I cringe and feel a visceral hatred when I think about being productive. Which is where creative writing, poetry, short stories, and epic DND campaigns, come into play. Writing allows my mind to be free, to wonder, and to create in a way that I feel is productive, without actively thinking I am trying to be so. I didn’t realize writing was such an outlet, until after graduating high school, then it stopped feeling like homework.
By Katherine MacKie5 years ago in Confessions
Coming Out of the Closet as a Naturist
For long enough, I could remember, I wasn't really self-conscious about my body until I reach the age of 30. I was the keep-fit type throughout my youth, going to the gym and generally happy with the body I had. I wasn't the show-off type at the gym, flexing muscles in the mirror as a female walks by.
By Paul-Anthony5 years ago in Confessions
I didn't Know This Wasn't My Diary P.S. Trauma
I've decided because I'm camera shy with performance anxiety that Youtube is NOT for me, but I do have a story time. I was in college when I first met Damien. My roommate encourage me to try dating sites after a really bad breakup, so I picked my poison; TINDER. I had a spree, the first guy I invited was a senior football player who had a gross kiss and when I told him that I was a freshman he said "Welcome to WIU" and gave me another wet sloppy kiss. I was not very happy when I escorted him out of my dorm room.
By Dominique Brewer5 years ago in Confessions
"To Planet Earth and Back"
"It's a UFO!" My mother's face would awash with an inaccessibly distant, childlike glow when she made these revelations. She would only be pointing to an airplane or shooting star, but I would never risk losing the mysticism on her face by telling her that. Those moments watching her observe the stars were the most fond to me, the most likely to cause choked tears to slide down my face upon recollection. I can't articulate what that look meant to me without breaking down into a sobbing mess, my computer screen turning into a spaghettio-soup of jumbled letters, like the kind she used to feed me when we were flat broke. Anyone who was lucky enough to see her expression while looking at the stars knows what I'm talking about - the strong woman that's allowed herself to be vulnerable only to the stars. Her ability to (or perhaps her need to) get so excited over unknowable things in the face of her own 'unknown'.
By Emily Jackson5 years ago in Confessions
Dušica for SOUL
I was in my freshman year at the University. I majored in theater but this was my first film audition ever. I inhaled deeply, I walked into the room knowing I’m animated and big, probably too big for the excruciating eye of the camera and spotted the director, who reminded me of a hamster, with his full cheeks. I plopped on the chair and just felt grateful that I was able to be in the room. That I was invited. I took another deep breath and listened carefully. The director approached waving his hands uncontrollably, I could see he was nervous too. “The story is about a young couple. They’re in love, and they just had a baby. I don’t want to reveal too much but the baby at the end… Well, it's not a happy ending.”
By Tjasa 5 years ago in Confessions
Dušica for SOUL
I was in my freshman year at the University. I majored in theater but this was my first film audition ever. I inhaled deeply, I walked into the room knowing I’m animated and big, probably too big for the excruciating eye of the camera and spotted the director, who reminded me of a hamster, with his full cheeks. I plopped on the chair and just felt grateful that I was able to be in the room. That I was invited. I took another deep breath and listened carefully. The director approached waving his hands uncontrollably, I could see he was nervous too. “The story is about a young couple. They’re in love, and they just had a baby. I don’t want to reveal too much but the baby at the end… Well, it's not a happy ending.”
By Tjasa 5 years ago in Confessions
The Night I Ran Into Tennessee Jed and His Brother Cosmic Charlie from the Reptilian World.
I was sitting at the local bar waiting for the local band to play. I dont get out much these days but my friends insisted. They hadn't shown up yet. I was just sitting there sipping on my Hornitos with my salt and lime wedge, when this really odd looking fella sits on the stool next to me.
By Susan Kulkowitz5 years ago in Confessions
Mom.
A mother’s love is pure & unconditional. A love so strong it can never be broken; my mother is all of this x 100,000. My mom is like superman coming down from the sky giving you hope, a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day. My mom is the Obi WAN Kenobi to my Anakin Skywalker always guiding me on the right path, even though I don’t listen half of the time. My mom is also like Batman sneaking around in the night, always watching, always looking for answers, the world‘s greatest detective. At the end of the day my mom is human. She has days of her own struggles. Days were she breaks down & cries. However she still manages to be my hero. Someone I can look up to, someone who inspires me every day, makes me laugh & smile. Also like Yoda, someone I can always look for advice even though it might not make sense at the moment. In hard times my mom is a foundation I can always rely on & no matter how afraid I get my mom is the light at the end of the tunnel. Always pushing me to move forward, while dealing with her daily challenges. It’s not until I was older that I realized not everyone has a mom like mine. Sometimes I look at her & say to myself, “How did you do it?” Not everyone has someone in their corner always backing them up, always there to be a shoulder to cry on, always to be a guiding voice to pull you out of fear & back into the light. Many times I thought about Who was there for her ? Who helped her? Who guided her? Now I appreciate my mom even more than I ever have in my entire life. As I go through my adult life, I’m still learning & making mistakes. She was never prepared for half of what she went through, but she got through it. She always will. So I understand more now that she is my hero, my human, my gift. I have the absolute honor of being her child. I can rely on her to be there giving me advice & telling me to get a haircut & to make sure that I’m eating everyday all in the same sentence. To chase my dreams. To love pure & unconditionally. Treat others with kindness. Live life to the fullest. While teaching me this, I’m able to teach her things like putting herself first. She has always been there for everyone & now it’s her turn. As a kid no one was able to handle me & almost everyone was annoyed with me, except for my mom. I know I probably got on her nerves more times than she might have liked but she was always there motivating me & always lifting me up. I see her day in & day out work. Become a boss. Creating her name across America. Well known for her job & started of as a receptionist to becoming her own boss. There’s always something special about a woman who overcomes everything that is meant to destroy her. I don’t ever have a memory of going without food, clothes, the things I need & even toys that wasn’t a need but she made it happen. This single mom made my life the absolute best it can ever be. If I was to ever have the chance to change my mom that’s definitely not going to happen. To me my mom is perfectly imperfect. The greatest woman I know. She is rare & I will forever cherish her. My mom has left so many good memories & so many wonderful stories, wisdom & the knowledge to pass on to my future generation. She has shown me what a mother’s love is truly supposed to be, unconditional & pure. I look forward to the future adventures I will have with her & cherish everyday as if it is my last.
By Jasmin Lespier5 years ago in Confessions
Guilt Condemned Me to Sleeplessness
Here is the mind, suffering from insomnia, not dead, and yet not alive. I suffered from sleeplessness and profound distress. My life hung limply over my shoulders, my eyes were red with reading and exhaustion, my face was wet with tears of desperation.
By Olya Aman5 years ago in Confessions
