Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in The Swamp.
The Real Monster
When I was six years old, I was convinced there was a creature in my closet. Staring into the dark abyss between its two folding doors, I imagined the monster taking many different forms. First it was a werewolf, then a swamp monster, then a vampire. Its goal was to torment me or worse, take me away from my family. It was there. I was sure of it. And yet when I called out to be rescued by my father and he courageously flicked on the closet light, I realized what many people don’t until later in their lives; that the dark creature had never lived inside my closet. The only monster that had ever existed in my bedroom was inside my mind. I had been betrayed by my very own brain. For twenty-four years since that moment, I have held back the urge to climb on to my roof and share my discovery with every soul in earshot. “FEAR,” I’d scream, “IS A LIAR.”
By Kayla Haase6 years ago in The Swamp
Turn Your Rage Into Power
Rage has always been the most dreaded symptom that I experience from Borderline Personality Disorder. It tends to come out the strongest when I am extremely passionate about something, and the current events involving the murder of George Floyd have really been affecting me. The George Floyd murder ignited my BPD rage, and it has been burning off and on for days. My rage has kept me fired up and has made it hard to function, but the one good thing about experiencing BPD rage is that you can use it to inspire you to act and make positive change. If you are experiencing BPD rage, or any form of rage during this time, consider the following actions to positively channel your anger. Just remember to only do what feels right to you! And please stay safe.
By Ashley Nestler, MSW6 years ago in The Swamp
A Beginner's Guide To Safely Participating in A Revolution. Top Story - June 2020.
If you're living in the United States, chances are you're not completely unaware of the turmoil that's setting off like a firework into a powder keg right about now. Perhaps watching all this has destroyed an integral part of you that so greedily clung to a fallacy of security in your surroundings.
By Delise Fantome6 years ago in The Swamp
3 Great Novels (and more) about Political Campaigns
In the summer of 2009, I fell in love with the English language and American politics at the same time. I have Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing to thank for that. As a child and pre-teen, I read voraciously and wrote prolifically, but when we moved to England and my mother tongue, French, began to rust, so did my love of language. Sorkin convinced me that English could be elegant. He also showed me how exciting — how glamorous, how romantic — politics could be. Or could, at least, appear.
By Claire Amy Handscombe6 years ago in The Swamp
The will of Life & the passion of Death
The will for life and the passion for death, what that means I believe for people of honor and that have a logistical understanding of life and death see that the will or want of life is a luxury to have first and foremost; while death becomes the climax and rejoice of those that understand and are comfortable with the fact of such a “glorious sensation”. The Spartans main look at life is to live life to complete fulfillment and when the end comes, embrace the times had and the moments to come; they pushed their own comfortability with death farther than where I believe most would ever venture to be. Leonidas I was the King of Sparta during the Battle of Thermopylae, Greece in 480 BC and led the noble 300 Spartans to the “Hot Gates” a small narrow passageway where Southern and Northern Greece meet; it is called that because of the natural hot springs that are in the area and at the time was believed to be the entrance to Hell or Hades.
By Conor M. Daly6 years ago in The Swamp
Racism at Sixteen
When I was seventeen, I got a job as a lifeguard on route ten, at an indoor amusement park and outdoor waterpark. It was beautiful, all brand new, and it was way larger of an operation then I had ever been apart of with at least a hundred workers on just the outdoor area. It’s important to say that it was on route ten, because route ten is the only place in our town where the bus comes. It’s a major highway, with places like AMC, Chilies, and many others, and people from poor neighborhoods and cities take this bus, and many of them work at places one can walk too, on route ten.
By kaleigh nye6 years ago in The Swamp
Can I Live?
Yes, everyday black people breathe differently than others. Because breathing differently means knowing and acknowledging we don’t have the same experiences as others on a day to day basis. We walk around with 10 ears and 20 pairs of eyes. I as a black woman can only say and say what I see from my perspective. My perspective of what I see wreaks of racism behind these brown eyes, curly, and coarse hair. And it hurts some of the stories my mother tells me.
By Evelyn Watkins6 years ago in The Swamp
Life Is Not Black and White
Right now there is a huge controversy happening. I am not going to speak directly on the current state of our country regarding the incident of tragic violence that occurred. I am not going to examine or analyze the facts to determine if what is happening is right or wrong. I do however, want to bring my own perspective to the issue at hand. Right now the world is more divided than it has been in a long time. Everyone is feeling the pressure to chose a side. Either you are with black people or you are with white people. Either you are defending black people or you are part of the problem. I would argue that this kind of thinking is how we got here in the first place. The truth is nothing in life is that simple. There is a complex culture that exists and subcultures that exist due to racial segregation. I speak from experience when I say racism is as alive in the black community as it is in the white community. I am a mixed race person with a black/native father and a white mother. I witnessed first hand my family being torn apart due to the color of my parent's skin. I experienced being cast aside as a family member because of being part white or part black. I have been rejected by the black community for being too white. I have been rejected by the white community for being too black. I have had to go through periods of life where I passed for white in order to avoid racism and I have experienced times when I did not pass and was directly discriminated against due to my being part black in the south. The issue is not black and white. The issues exist on a spectrum of anger, hatred and pain. Black people are not the only ones suffering in our current system. This revolution is not about black and white. We need to keep in mind all the minority groups who have helped to pave the way for this current climactic scene. Women, Indigenous People, LGBTQ to name just a few that have helped us get to this moment today. This revolution is not about being black. It is about being human. There are certinly issues that pertain to the black community that need to be addressed. Are we ready? Anytime you destroy something it should be with an effective plan to heal. The cycle of life demands that when we put something to death we must labor to birth new life to fill that void. If we truly want this revolution to succeed we need to start focusing now on how we are going to heal our communities. Focused attention needs to be brought to how we are going to have meaningful, productive, reason focused discussions on how we can truly level the playing field. Damage has been done for generatons as we have witnessed the demise of our people over and over again. This is not something you repair by handing out privilage. Apologies and nice words will not cut it. Holding a sign and chanting will not fix our broken homes, failing school systems and tired spirits. There is also another issue that no one really wants to address. The black community needs to be honest among itself about the many ways we have become unhealthy towards one another and our fellow man in the midst of our suffering. There are generations of rage and pain coursing through our veins. What are we going to do with that. How are we going to lift one another up out of the pit we have been thrown in. We can rise victoriously our of it but it is going to take work from us and the support of our allies. Picking eachother apart like angry vultures will not fix this. Pointing the finger at entire people groups will not fix this. It is time for all minorities to come together with our allies and stand together to create lasting change. After all life is not black and white. There are so many beautiful shades of every kind of color in between. As a mixed race person I had to learn about all the colors that exist in the world so I could find my place. There was no solace in black or white. I have blended in with multiple ethnicities and people groups soaking up the culture and knowledge. If you can take off the blinders and remove the segregating construct that was programmed into your mind you can enjoy all the beautiful colors too. This goes beyond skin tone, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, economic class and education. This is about getting in touch with humanity at its base. At the end of the day we are all one. We are all human.
By Stephanie Keesee6 years ago in The Swamp
