Category: Writing challenges

Contains of both Daily Writing Prompts and RagTag Daily Prompts.

Allergic to you

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dust on tarmacI’m not allergic to food or animals but I am allergic to dust, sweat, strong smells and cigarette smoke. I’ve mentioned before about my atopic eczema. If I was allergic to food I could choose what to eat. But when it comes to fragrances, there are things and places that are difficult to avoid. When you’re around people, there’s always someone who wears too much perfume. Or smoker who just been outside. That’s the worse smell ever, a person who has just smoked. I can hardly breathe if someone like that is close by. When smoking was still allowed in pubs and cruise ships, my skin reacted to the smoke. It got itchy and I had dry skin for days. Luckily, they forbid smoking inside and now it’s much nicer to travel on ships. Except for my skin still gets dry but that’s because of the bedclothes in the cabins that are washed with strong detergent.

I can’t sweat so running and other “sweaty” things should be avoided. If I do run, my skin becomes itchy and it’s really unpleasant. That’s why I hate if I’m late and I have to run. I can’t do physical work. Any job where you have to wash your hands often or use strong detergents is bad for me. Even hot weather makes my skin itch. I can’t stay in the sun for too long either. In winter the eczema is the worse. In the summer it’s not that bad. Some people think it’s contagious but it’s not. It doesn’t look very nice but you won’t get it if you touch someone. My allergy is mild compared to what others might have. Some have it on their hands but luckily I haven’t. Mine is mostly on my face and arms. Sometimes my face is so red, I’m not very willing to go outside. I use an emollient cream which seems to work. Moisturizers that doesn’t contain alcohol is good for me. I have to use fragrance-free products but luckily there’s quite a lot to choose from. Wearing wool on bare skin makes me itchy. When I was younger, I was so embarrassed for having eczema on my arms so I wore long-sleeved shirts all summer. As I got older I noticed wearing short sleeves made it better. It’s the sweat that makes the skin itchy.

House dust and especially during cleaning makes my nose run. I begin to sneeze and sometimes I get a 24-hour flu because of it. That’s the reason I don’t like dusting. Dust also make my face itch. The dust outside in the spring also gives me mild reactions but not as much as inside. Sometimes I think maybe I should hire a cleaner because of my condition but I don’t like strangers touching my things. Besides, housekeepers cost money and I rather clean my flat myself. Anyone with an allergy of any kind knows life isn’t peachy but you learn to live with your imperfections.

 

Treat your mind

Mia1 Comment

brain on blackboardOur brain is the most important organ we should treat with respect. Do things that need thinking. Read a book. Watch a documentary. Do the things you love the most.  Anything that doesn’t slow the mind. If we stop using our brains, it gets lazy and the risk of dementia or other brain disease increases. Treating your mind well is also good for the mental health. Especially positive thinking. If you give in when things go wrong, you get stressed. Everyone needs something to look forward to. You shouldn’t stop doing things you love if someone tells you to. What you do with your life, is no concern for others.

As long as I remember I have always done things I like. My mother tried to get me into a gym class when I was a little child but I didn’t feel secure with the other kids. My sister was the opposite. I think she was more like our mother. I was a bit of a rebel in school. I didn’t like homework and the gym was a pain even if I was good at it. I just hated to change clothes in front of others. I was, of course, shy too. I’m always been stubborn and did things that I felt like doing. I’m still the same. If I do things I have no interest in, my brain gets lazy. I have so much going on in my head at once, my mind has no rest. It’s unbelievable how much information a brain can have. Things that you love stays there and you feel motivated to continue. Stubbornness can also prevent your brain going soft.

If I didn’t have my imagination, I wouldn’t be me. I keep my mind at work by thinking about plots to my fictions. That what I love about movies with a meaning. They have complex plots and they tell a lot about human behaviour. I’ve always been interested in that. I don’t get inspiration from books, I get it from TV or movies. I like thinking so reality-TV is not my thing. If I want to rest my brain, I watch a comedy or write a story with no sense. Humour is good medicine for the mind. I can watch comedy shows that came out years ago and still laugh at them. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen The Golden girls or Frasier for example. Some things never get old. Treat your mind with what you love. That’s how I go by and it makes life worth living.

Their loss my gain

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foggy tarmac road

Happy New year but it doesn’t begin like that. As I guessed I didn’t get the job. Typical but it’s their loss. I have a reservation for this kind of things. It’s never nice to be rejected but it’s not up to you if you get the job or not. The final decision is made by the employer. It does make you feel it’s not worth all the efforts. Never forget you’re not alone. A lot of people struggle with the same problems. Even the one who has found success despite being rejected a lot of times. Wham and George Michael come to mind. They sent demos to record companies but no one wanted to sign them. If they had given up, the pop culture would have looked a lot different. If you don’t believe in yourself, who will? I don’t think hard work will pay off completely. You also need some luck. Unfortunately, not everyone has it.

I always felt luck has never been on my side. It feels like I’m cursed. I have no luck in loyal friends nor in a job search. But I won’t let that discourage me. It’s really their loss and my gain. I don’t need to get stuck in one place or have the same people around. I am rather alone and that has worked so far. If no one wants to give me a chance, I can always try something else. I want to be a person who can say, I did it despite rejection and you really must lose sleep knowing you could have given me a chance. People always say it’s not healthy to be alone but I don’t agree. It’s unhealthy to be around people who don’t respect you. I’m old enough and experienced enough to know what kind of people I want to be around. I have met a lot of great people but I haven’t kept in touch. I’m not very good at having contact with anyone. I might have got along with them but still, I wasn’t on the same wavelength as them. I need someone who can keep up with my personality. I haven’t met anyone who could. People give up too easily.

I’ve had so much crap thrown at me over the years, it’s no wonder I don’t open up to people easily. My father often says I’m too sensitive but he doesn’t really understand what I’ve gone through. No one can really know how another person feels or think. You can imagine and support that person but their true thoughts are only known to them. I really love the song ‘Wouldn’t be good‘ by Nik Kershaw.  It describes my feelings perfectly. In some ways it’s a sad song but also have some hope. Things might look awful now but in the end, is the grass really greener on the other side? My things could be worse. No one’s life is perfect. Even the successful ones have problems. I rather be who and where I am right now. Things could always be a lot better but there is a time and a place for everything. Patience and motivation to fight on will save the day. Good things come for those who wait.