Writing responses to Prompts
Prompt: Jumbo shrimp, silent scream, civil war. In 500 words or less, share an oxymoron and how it resonates with you.
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Flying Buttress. Although your Shakespearean English teacher didn’t teach you this one in school, its juxtaposition and self-contradiction has a pleasantly poignant meaning on multiple dimensions. It’s usage is both form and function, practical and philosophical.
Flying, an adjective, describes something as moving or able to move through the air with wings. It’s airborne, reaches and soars. A buttress, a projecting support made from stone or brick is built against a tall wall. A prop, or support anchored to the ground.
Now put together, a ‘flying buttress”, is a buttress slanting from a separate pier, typically forming an arch with the wall it supports. Unlike any other old buttress, its gracefully supported arches make it look like they are flying through the sky while simultaneously anchored in the ground pressing against the structure. The flying buttress is a masterpiece of beauty, craftsmanship and stability. This never-seen-before design and construction to support upper walls, revolutionized gothic style cathedral design to literally reach for the heavens physically and metaphorically.
As a metaphor, this concept resonates with me as it allows for opposing points of view to coexist, and be more impactful together. This teaches me to rise above conventional thinking and inspires me to take risks that are simultaneously anchored and lofted. As both a literary device and an architectural structure, a flying buttress takes form only if its opposing elements are forced into balance. It is their tension that creates the dynamic beauty of the whole. The difficult compliments the easy, and the high counterbalances the low. I strive to find novel solutions and build partnerships that harness this energy.
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Prompt: Batman and Robin; Bonnie and Clyde. In 500 words or less, describe your own dynamic duo and specifically the critical attributes your teammate would possess to complement your own.
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“Taco. Cheese?… OVER”
“Salsa… OVER”
The purple walkie-talkie, with a code word sheet taped to the back, crackled as I released the button. Translation: “Meet at the corner of 1st Avenue and Baltimore Boulevard (Taco). Baltimore Park (cheese)?”. “Let's ride (Salsa)”.
Although my best friend, Ellie, and I knew each other’s home phone numbers by heart, we were getting clever, more resourceful with age and decided in order to outwit, outlast and outplay our parents from any play-date interference, it'd serve us best to introduce a walkie-talkie protocol and write our own language.
In approximately 7 minutes Ellie and I would be on our bikes, helmeted, and strapped with backpacks. We were the most iconic play-date duo of the town, spotlighted in our local newspaper climbing trees, chalking sidewalks, and selling lemonade sporting all kinds of hats and patterns. We were untouchable, no challenge out of reach. We were completely balanced in each other's presence, each strong in different areas, and totally aligned in spirit.
To get to Baltimore Park we had to cross 5 intersections. At each intersection, I’d look right for oncoming cars and Ellie would look left. “Clear my way. Clear mine too”. The two of us were bundles of energy, on a mission to maximize play, exploration, and imagination. Ellie was our trusty team navigator, imagineer and head comedian. She had the DNA for uninhibited fun, and spirited our adventures with laughter. Definitely slightly obsessive, a lover of routine, she proposed plans considering how much time we had until dinner and how much change we could pool together to buy poster paper for our afternoon drawing session.
Complimentary to Ellie’s playful imagination and focus, I was the catalyst that brought our day’s adventure to life. Unafraid to ask questions or put myself out there, I talked to anyone on our path to absorb helpful information and build networks. With a deep desire to understand things and a keen EQ, I made creative connections and included unexpected mixes of people. No matter the circumstances, Ellie’s rambunctious yet methodical energy, and my engaged, gung-ho, learn as you go artistic attitude enabled us to live a life of play that pursued the what-ifs of nature, people and storytelling. We created worlds in the high-level branches of the trees we climbed, collections of artwork that reflected our imaginations, and strategic boardwalk businesses that funded our future projects. This dynamic duo still lives on today. OVER.
A page out of my notebook: Synthesis of Speculation
