PLAID IDEAS

Your gaze is my warm embrace

I wave at to you until infinity and space

All my hopes into your frame

A photograph never always the same A moment is this I shall keep

With you in mind I can fall asleep

You are a dream

You are the sea unto the never ending stream What is this I shall write

Unto paper and unto stone

A promise

A promise of a warm "Hello".

One word, two syllables, and an infinity of possibilities.

"Hello." A greeting that a person uses, in order to greet someone, or to start a conversation. Most people use this word frequently; however, the significance of this word is usually forgotten. It is a simple word, but this very word can create so many beautiful things. Saying "hello" has started the majority of relationships, whether it be with a new classmate, a new bus mate, or even a complete stranger. Because of this "hello,” one can unknowingly meet a thoughtful friend, a trusted leader, a kindhearted teacher, or a considerate classmate. The next time "hello" is said, do not underestimate it. One will never know what the next greeting brings, and that is its beauty.

Ernie Harwell

Mixtape Mondays: Hello!

1. hello - martin solveig & dragonette

2. shake it off - taylor swift

3. what you know - two door cinema club

4. white sky - vampire weekend

5. june - oh, flamingo

6. we're going to be friends - the white stripes

7. l.i.f.e.g.o.e.s.o.n. - noah and the whale

8. awkward - san cisco

9. little talks - of monsters and men

10. the walker - fitz and tantrums

11. hard time - paramore

12. it's time - imagine dragons

13. all star - smash mouth

click here to listen: https://open.spotify.com/user/janllenzl/playlist/5yAF5y8dODxjvhKjfwvHtn

Bonjour!

Buongiorno!

Ni Hao!

Kon’nichiwa

And finally hello, and welcome to a new school year!

For our opening theme, we chose to go for a single word, almost invisible in how inconspicuous it is: Hello. But what is the purpose of a hello? We know it as a greeting, the start of a conversation, the meeting between both acquaintances and strangers. It is such an innocuous word, and one that we have indisputably used at least once in the past day, if not the last hour. We know its meaning, but we rarely contemplate what it, and its use, entail. Why would we, if its definition is so straightforward? And yet, it is sometimes in the simplest, most common things that we can find the most profound meaning, because what is a greeting, if not an invitation? What is a conversation, a dialogue, if not a story of people, for people?

Indeed, what is a hello if not the beginning of something new?

Throughout the next 8 months, we will have writers, photographers, and artists sharing their stories on this Tumblr page through their works, each post a new conversation with the reader, you. Some may be familiar while other may be foreign. And yet, in each new work lies the foundation of a new dialogue, an opportunity to learn more, and perhaps recognize a bit of yourself in those around you.

The year is only just beginning, and so, let us welcome you all with a resounding “Hello!”

Roy T. Bennett

You sit in a table in the far corner of a small café, watching the makeshift stage with its too-bright lights as each performer comes and goes. Some pluck the strings of guitars so softly that you couldn’t tell where the music ended and the wind began; some strummed lighthearted tunes with ukuleles and accompanying cajons, while some came with no instruments at all. They came with nothing but their words and a desire to be heard. They are the poets – the dreamers of dreams.

I too, could be a dreamer of dreams, you can’t help but think over and over after each performance. But these thoughts are quickly followed by the echoing memory of your own stuttering voice ringing in your ears, so you remain quietly seated, absorbing every poem, every phrase, every word and every vowel, drinking in the sound of soul and bravado resonating across the café’s walls.

They call for last-minute performers.

I too, can be a dreamer of dreams. You hear your stuttering once more but this time, it’s drowned out by the sound of your rapidly beating heart – the adrenaline coursing through your veins. You make your way to the stage, only half-aware of what you’re doing until you’re standing in front of the microphone with the bright lights directed at you as you take a deep breath, and before thinking twice, begin.

The words come as naturally as the stutter once did – pouring in unstoppable torrents of emotion. Metaphors enter with great blazing trumpets as the adrenaline coursing through your veins transform into golden ichor. Breath becomes an arrow flying in the wind and hands paint stories of everything and nothing. You speak until each metaphor has been emphasized, each story told and each breath freed into the wind. You speak until there are no more words left to speak and then you simply stand, basking in too-bright lights.

And take a bow.

Marcus Aurelius

Ray A. Davis

I see you.

The way you keep your gaze down as you walk,

The way you avoid any eye contact,

The way you try to look like nothing; not lonely or sad or happy or different — literally nothing.

I notice you watch the "cool" girls,

And try to figure out how they work, how they manage to always be first.

And why do you always come last?

In a crowded room of people, there is not enough oxygen for everyone to inhale

So you take shallow breaths and push yourself against the wall.

You try to make yourself as small and insignificant as you can

Because God forbid you become an inconvenience.

You've given yourself to so many other people you've forgotten you need yourself.

And that induces a different ache,

One I am familiar with

Because I did that too.

They told me, "breathe easy!"

I said, "I try to!"

Do not let yourself suffocate,

As I did myself for so long.

Pause and drink in the air

Because you can.

Stand up straight and tall

Because you actually matter.

My darling, you're not a "cool" girl.

You are something else entirely.

Eleanor Roosevelt

Moana, Moana