Showing posts with label story time. Show all posts
Showing posts with label story time. Show all posts

Tuesday, 31 May 2016

A weekend offline.

Hey there!

Let me tell you a little story. A very, very stupid story. Get ready for a lot of cringing. 

Once upon a time, also known as last Thursday, a girl named Renée was at school. This Thursday wasn't just any day. No, it was a day filled with lectures, a lot of free periods and a boring class which lasted until 5:30 pm. Our story starts in the early afternoon.

The girl named Renée was sat in the library, together with the other kids (read: childish adults) of her class. They had been there for the last two hours watching anime or normal TV-shows, talking and just blatantly not studying. In these two hours Renée got back into one of her anime phases, whilst enjoying the strawberry yoghurt. However one of her satanic classmates decided to film Renée's yoghurt-anime-sessions and sent it to the class's group chat. Let's say Renée ignored this classmate for the rest of the week. 

When the four hours long free period finally came to an end, the class got up from their library position and started the hellish climb to the third floor. Non of them particularly fond of the ridiculous amount of stairs their school holds. Before taking on the stairs Renée and another, less satanic, classmate decided to have a small toilet break. They both went into a stall when it happened. As Renée lowered her jeans she heard a loud "splash". A sudden fear took over as she turned around and without a doubt stuck her hand in the toilet to get her phone out of the toilet. Quick as she was she got the phone out and started drying it with her coat, toilet paper, even her shirt. Whatever it took to get most of the directly visible water off the phone. All whilst standing in her underwear, with a full bladder and a confused classmate in the stall next to her. 

Still panicking she went for a pee and reunited with her classmate to tell her the story. Let's say that, even though the other classmate understood her panic, she still couldn't help but laugh. This wasn't even the first time Renée had dropped her phone in the toilet, no my friends, this was the bloody second time it happened. 

Once Renée returned home later that evening, she rushed to find a bowl and rice to put her phone in. For the weekend Renée had to survive without her phone. A weekend without the endless scrolling through social media and pointless talking to friends. The first day was pretty difficult as she kept reaching for a phone covered in rice, a phone she couldn't use. The other days went by pretty easily. It gave her a weird sense of peace, not having to constantly look at a phone, to have the rectangular screen printed in your mind. It was a good weekend, a peaceful weekend. Renée found that she didn't need to be online 100% of the time, she found out that it's actually really nice to spend some time offline, to not have to check social media or worry about missing some important messages. She found that when people really needed her they would find another way to reach her. 

After the weekend she took her phone out of the rice and started it again. Thankfully the phone did work and Renée came back online. A lot of messages were left on her social media and she didn't even bother to read them all. She announced her return and the important questions or announcements were repeated and the not important things forgotten. Now she's back online which might be her happily ever after, but maybe her happily ever after is realising she isn't so dependent on her social media activity or her phone altogether. Sometimes she just needs to take a break, to clear her mind and to get that stupid rectangular shape out of her mind. 

So yes, you could say Renée lived happily ever after. She even has a little protip for all you people out there. "Whenever you go to the loo, check your back-pockets, get your phone or other technological devices out, believe me it makes having a pee a lot less stressful".



Thursday, 23 April 2015

A little story about me.

Hello,

It is time for "the blog". The one I wrote a little prologue for a couple of days ago. A prologue containing some information about this blog. Please read the prologue before you read this blogpost.

I have been writing ever since I can remember. Little stories about unknown places and undiscovered dimensions. Places and people, all living in their own universe, on their own planet but still all in my head. All these universes flowing out of my pen onto paper, creating a story, a life line no one had heard of before. 

Up to today I still love writing, to create new places and new people. Better places and better people. Yet besides all the fantastic stories my mind creates it is also constantly full. Full of thoughts, doubts, questions, feelings, dreams. Some more crazy than others, some more recent than others and others more present than some. My mind is a fantastic place and I absolutely love it. My mind however is also my greatest enemy. 

As a little kid I already used to prefer living in the fantastic worlds inside my mind that in the real world. I have never been too fond of other people and always preferred being alone. There are a few people I have allowed into my life and even fewer that know what is going on inside my mind. Not the fantastic worlds but the enemy side. The dark side, the one that has been silently haunting me since the beginning of my days. 

When I became twelve and it was time for secondary school the dark side of my mind began to show itself more and more often. The innocent little kid I was would soon disappear. In general secondary school was great. I met all of my friends there and even learnt some useful things besides all the useless sh*t they provide you with. Yes it is true, half of what you learn in secondary school is useless and you will never use it outside of school! Spoiler alert.

The first year was rather great and I felt like I had finally found my place in society. Despite all the fun I had I became incredibly sad and not knowing where the sadness came from made me angry, really angry. But no one wants to know you're sad right?! So I kept all the anger and sadness bottled up inside for as long as I could. Emptying the bottle a little every time I got a hold of a pen and wrote my feelings down on paper. The writing wasn't enough so some times the sadness and anger took over which I then took out on myself. Why? Well, it was my anger, my sadness so I should take it out on myself and not on anybody else. These anger attacks as I can safely call them were the start of years and years of therapy. 

I really liked my first psychologist, she really helped me and together we looked for ways to deal with my anger. Some were more effective than others, and slowly I seemed to get 'better'. The anger attacks being dealt with, I became more silent in school, avoiding most social interaction and becoming rather lonely. This led to my psychologist helping me become more of a social person and helping me overcome some of my fears like asking people to hang out with me or calling people, friends or professionals like my dentist. I didn't overcome these things and every time I had to have a conversation with people in real life or on the phone I felt very anxious. The anger attacks were mostly over but had been replaced with anxiety and panic attacks. 

As the dark side of my mind became stronger and bigger, I felt like I was losing control. As a nice bonus my psychologist had to go somewhere else so I would get another psychologist. This didn't go well and as the second year of secondary school came closer to an end we had to stop my therapy as there was no bond between my new psychologist and I. The panic attacks were still there, I started feeling more and more worthless and not worthy of being alive. I felt like a constant burden to everyone and anyone so I kept away from the world as much as possible. I did go to school though as I somewhat enjoyed the company of my friends and the happiness they radiated. It made me feel a little bit alive and that was all I needed. Without any professional help I had to help myself. I increased my writing as writing has always been a great way of dealing with my problems but what I wrote became darker and darker. The amazing universes were the only things I had left so I started living in there rather than on earth. But the darkness kept growing and eventually it started crushing the only things that kept me together. 

I was lost, utterly lost. An increasing amount of panic attacks and a decreasing amount of social contact made me feel even more alone and unworthy of living. I started getting suicidal thoughts and I started planning my own death. I even wrote letters to everyone that needed to know the truth. At that time I was so done with life. Done with trying even though I had only been fighting my own mind a little over a year. Thinking back all the problems I had back then seem rather silly and I am very thankful I am still alive and able to do what I love doing. 

After my first two psychologists I took a different turn and started hypnotherapy. The therapist was a lovely lady who has helped me through a lot of bad times and who has taught me several ways to remain calm and quiet my mind. In the time I got treated by her I also got into the hospital for a week. Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. The week before I got diagnosed might have been the worst week ever both mentally and physically. I wanted dead, death seemed peaceful to me as I was in such pain and I had no idea where the pain and all the other symptoms came from. Luckily I got control of my diabetes quite quickly and even though I had to change my lifestyle completely I felt happy again. I was in control of my life again. A little later I quit hypnotherapy.

This control didn't last very long as a little while later it was time for psychologist number 4. Number 4 and 5 were included in my "diabetes care package" together with physiotherapists and so on. Number 4 was yet another great psychologists who helped me with a lot of my problems but she too had to leave and got replaced by psychologist number 5. Just like last time this didn't work out so I quit treatment again and went on the helping myself road again. It just didn't work. Everything I tried was useless so eventually I started harming myself which got worse over time until my mum and doctor started to notice and sent me to a psychiatrist. Thanks to my psychiatrist I have more clarity about who I am now. She diagnosed me as very depressed and eventually I also got the diagnosis Pervasive Developmental Disorder also known as PDD. Both diagnosis didn't come as a surprise but they did give me a lot of clarity regarding my own mind and behaviour. 

My depression disabled me from going to school. I couldn't concentrate, I was too afraid to participate in conversations and I was just too tired to keep up with everything. I cried on my way to school and on the way back. At home the crying continued until I was too tired to cry. Continuing my university course wasn't an option so I dropped out. The gap year I now had would consist mostly of me visiting my psychiatrist and trying to sort my life out. Get myself back together and "beat" my depression so I would be able to start uni again the next year. All together I have been treated by my psychiatrist for a year and a half. From just before I graduated from secondary school up to the end of the first month of my restart at uni. 

Now I am 18 and I'll turn 19 in a few months. The last appointment I had with my psychiatrist has been over half a year ago. There are still times I feel sad and that dark side of my mind starts to take over again but I have found effective ways to defeat the darkness. Writing being one of them. The fantastic universes I once created have come back but I don't spent nearly as much time in them as I did before. Life is too amazing to spent so much time in your head. 5 psychologists, 1 psychiatrist and 6 years later I am at a point in life where I can finally say I am happy with who I am. I know who I am and where I want to go in life. For some reason I am very thankful for all the misery I have put myself through as it has been an incredible journey and I have learnt a lot of valuable lessons. Life has only just begun and I am going to make it incredible. 

For all of you lovely people out there suffering from any form of mental illness. Please if you need someone to talk to know that you can always message me on any of my social media! Just know I am here to listen and help where ever I can. 

And last but not least, know that it always gets better. It might take 6 years but eventually bad times will pass and good times will come, don't forget that!

Lots of love,
ThatDutchGirl96

Thursday, 22 January 2015

Broken things.

Hello!

It's story time. Grab some tea, get comfortable and enjoy the ride. (Watch out with the tea though!)

Once upon a time there was this Dutch girl. And like so many times the Dutch girl was sitting behind her laptop, scrolling through social media and not doing what she actually should be doing. Surprisingly enough there weren't just social media tabs open, in the far left corner there were two tabs open, tabs that contained crucial information of the school projects she should be working on. There was this voice in the back of Dutch girl's head that kept telling her to stop the scrolling and start the studying. Although every time she was about to close one of the social media tabs she found something that caught her attention and kept her from actually closing the tab. Because oh my god just look at that cute dog wearing a superman cape or the sneezing cat! Enough, she decided. I am now going to make myself a cup of tea grab some studying snacks and finally start the projects.

And she did as she said. Tea in one hand, snacks next to the laptop, mouse in the other hand ready for some action. The social media tabs got closed and so only the school tabs remained. Another click and an empty Microsoft Word document got opened. The magic of technology. Nothing was going to keep her from working on the project anymore. The Dutch girl took a determent sip of her tea before putting it away and proceeding to the next phase of "getting ready for some school projects".  After doing some pre-project hand and arm stretching she was officially ready. 

Fingertips gently touching the keys of the keyboard, she typed and she typed, stopped to take a sip of her tea and typed some more. Now there were 5 complete sentences in the at first empty Word document. Time for evaluation, she decided as she leaned forward to re-read the sentences and check for possible spelling or grammar mistakes. No mistakes so far. Happy with the start of the important school project she leaned back whilst a little smile formed on her lips. This smile soon disappeared when she noticed that half the contents of her teacup were now on the keyboard. Panic took over the poor Dutch girl as reality kicked her in the face. Her hand reached out for the mouse to quickly save those five sentences she had just typed. It was the fastest she had ever moved. The laptop screen turned black after holding the power button for 10 seconds. Now it was time for some serious drying action. As quick as she could she moved the only half full cup of tea away from the laptop. She put the laptop in an upside down V shape to let most of the tea drip out of the keyboard. Chair pushed back and panic still in control she ran into the kitchen to grab a towel and some tissues. 

Once she got back to the laptop a lot of tea had come out already and was now forming a small puddle on the table. The Dutch girl quickly cleaned up the puddle and then lifted it up diagonally. A few drops of tea still dripping out onto the laptop as she was gently rubbing tissues on the keyboard in an attempt to dry it. After about half an hour and 100 tissues later the laptop seemed pretty dry. There was no more tea dripping out. The Dutch girl cleaned up the wet towel and all the tissues. Knowing there was probably still some tea inside the keyboard she put the laptop upside down again on a dry towel and left it like that for over 24 hours. Something she had read online, how ironically. 

A big dilemma was awaiting as the deadline for the project was only five days away and there was no spare laptop or other computer she could use. Panic and a feeling of worthlessness got the best of her and the smile that had appeared on her face seemed forever gone. Thoughts of the consequences of her failing this project started flying around in her mind. Only the worst versions got to her leaving a stream of tears behind as the got replaced with one that was even worse. The Dutch girl seemed broken, not able to see any light in this utter darkness of her failings and flaws as a human being. Long live the infinite stock of tissues. 

After hours had passed the poor Dutch girl got some of her broken pieces back together. Making her feel a bit hopeful again and as she got more hopeful she also gained some courage. This got her to remove the laptop from this unnatural upside down V shape and back onto her lap. No fluids around this time. Carefully she pressed the power button and her hopes got answered as the screen lit up and seemed to start up normally again. More of her despair faded as the home screen appeared and everything seemed to start normally. The Dutch girl got more and more relieved with every second.

The moment of truth was now finally there. As the tea had mostly fallen over her keyboard the big question remained. Will all the keys still work? The answer no. As she opened Microsoft Word, ready to try all the keys it happened. Dramatic music started playing in her head. What she had feared was now really happening. The screen froze and an absurd noise escaped from the laptop just before the screen went black. It was over. The laptop had given up, it was time for it to leave this planet and move on to a new place, a better place perhaps.

The broken laptop got taken away for physical examination before getting buried. The Dutch girl had no time to grieve. That stupid project still needed to get done. Still sad over the fact she had lost her loyal friend she called. Friends, Family members and with luck. Her aunt had an old laptop she could borrow. Never before was the Dutch girl so happy with a crappy piece of out of time technology. She didn't care about the laptop functioning super slow, the sound system not working and the fact that this old thing needed to be plugged in a charger constantly. There was new hope. Not for her old laptop but for herself. She was now able to finish the project and still hand it in on time. And so the Dutch girl and the old laptop lived a short happily ever after before this one got replaced by a new one.
THE END

ThatDutchGirl96