Author Archives: Hayley Rose

by | June 1, 2012 · 2:27 am

The Graveyard

 

 

In the woods near my house are foundations; stone and mortar buildings that are over 200 years old. One sits directly across the street from me. I pass by it every day but it is not the only one. There are at least twenty or thirty of these old houses from the original Farmingbury settlement. I could go on to tell you some classic New England ghost stories: some of the strange encounters I experienced while growing up here, but you might think I’m lying (or crazy) and I’m not sure which misconception would be worse.

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by | May 30, 2012 · 9:17 am

Mediocre Expectations

Miss Havisham... Oh God, is this going to be me in five years?

I have been known to get drunk and brag to guys that my IQ was in the 95th percentile. Why? I have no idea. Needless to say, they weren’t impressed. Which brings me to the next installment of my book reviews- or as I like to call it, “Literature from Hell Part Three: Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations.”

The first time I read this book, I was in high school. Well… now that I think about it, my previous statement is actually a half truth. I didn’t read it so much as I stared at the page until class was over. I brought the book home and still couldn’t focus on it. Who would name a child Pip? And who would trust a creepy woman like Miss Havisham with said unfortunate child?  Then there was a second attempt to read it in college, for fun. I didn’t make it past page 30. I even brought it with me on a long flight. In fact, it was the only thing I had to read and still, I couldn’t bear it. Instead I slept.

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by | May 29, 2012 · 4:55 pm

Relationships After Sexual Assault

Or should I say the “lack of relationships” after sexual assault. Trust is a difficult thing, especially when you’ve fallen victim to a rape. After becoming a victim myself and eventually seeking therapy, I couldn’t trust anyone, not even myself. Can you imagine the feeling of not being able to trust yourself? I am still very mistrustful and fearful. To understand why, I would have to revert back to the crime itself along with some common misconceptions.

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by | May 20, 2012 · 6:58 pm

The Importance of Choice

After being raped by two men when I was just fifteen years old, I understand the value of choice. Maybe that’s because I never had one. The trauma I experienced reminds me of the abortion ban Mississippi law makers are pushing through their state legislature. Had I become pregnant as a result of those rapes, there is no doubt in my mind that I would’ve aborted the fetus.

For most of those (pro-lifers) leaning towards the anti-choice stance, rape and incest are often the two exceptions to the rule, when it comes to the outlawing abortions. Who gives them the right to put stipulations on other people’s decisions? Who gives them the right to take away my choice? Maybe one has to have the option of choice taken away before he or she can fully understand it’s value.

Mississippi lawmakers are close to successfully banning abortion from their state. Only one abortion clinic remains and lawmakers are looking forward to putting this last remaining clinic out of business as well. How did they block it? A new bill has stacked the deck against medical doctors by adding extra stipulations, not typically required for the typical licensure to perform abortion procedures.

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by | May 11, 2012 · 2:26 pm

News

Happy Friday!

Check out my new article on HuffPost World:

Check out this appalling story about how two dolphins OD’d on heroine when the responsible staff at the zoo that held them captive hosted a rave. Just another reason I HATE zoos!!! Follow this link for the full story…

Here’s an uplifting video of a baby seal being released back into the wild. Click here

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by | May 10, 2012 · 10:55 am

LGBT Community Makes Strides in Argentina, Loses Ground In US

This week was a big week for the global LGBT community. Yesterday, Argentina made it easier for transgendered individuals to obtain hormone therapies and sex change operations. A few days before that, the US state of North Carolina banned gay marriage and civil unions. Is it just me or does something sound wrong here? In Argentina, “Senators approved the Gender Identity law by a vote of 55-0.”  55-0? I can’t imagine that unanimity happening with any positive legislature for the LGBT in this country…

It is reported that Argentina’s President Christina Fernandez is looking forward to signing the bill. She is proud of it just like the bill she signed two years ago making Argentina the first Latin American country to legalize gay marriage… Wait a second… Let me get this strait. In Argentina gay marriage is legal AND they have a WOMAN for a president? Whoa…

“For many, gender rights were the next step.” Gender rights? Really? Because in this country many citizens still consider the transgendered community to be less than equal; entities that are sometimes treated as subhuman. Just a few days ago, North Carolina voters ruled 39% to 61% to change the verbiage of their state’s constitution to define the “only legal domestic partnership” as a partnership between a man and a woman.

Though the puritanical reign is obviously still very much in control it appears to be getting desperate. When individual state legislatures take backwards steps as other states make progress and favor equal rights for the LGBT community, it only makes the oppositional states, like North Carolina, look out of touch with reality. What logical grounds are they using to make these decisions? Oh, that’s right… the Bible.

The Bible is much like the Constitution: they are both open for interpretation. Unfortunately many of the Bible’s “believers” manipulate its text in the same way an attorney scours the law to find loopholes. These believers only see the Bible as open for interpretation when it gives credence to their agenda.

The United States was formed and founded on religious freedom and upholds the separation of church and state. Based on the actions of certain states, it seems that there must be a hidden clause the Constitution that says “as a US citizen, you are granted tolerance and religious freedom…unless your state’s rule is dominated by a popular Christian sect.”

I look forward to the day when gay marriage is legal and the members of the LGBT community are treated with dignity because despite all this noise, it is inevitable. I am confident that one day, these antagonists of progress will universally appear as bigoted as the mid-century opponents of the civil rights movement.

 

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by | May 9, 2012 · 3:32 am

Absynthe, Tinkerbell, and Never Never Land

The above painting, L’absinthe, is by far one of my favorite Degas’. I like it more than any one of his ballerinas. This is probably because of the raw emotion it exhibits or maybe because I can identify more with a drunk than I do a ballerina… This painting illustrates the addict, the drunk, at her lowest. As I look at the piece, I can hear the clamoring and clinking of glasses— the commotion of the bar is so loud yet she hears none of it as she sits there in a world of her own. Maybe she stopped by the bar for a drink after working her day away at a hazardous industrial era mill. No wonder she looks so miserable… Continue reading →

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by | May 8, 2012 · 6:31 pm

Becoming Whole

I remember the first day I babysat Melanie. I was in college and a local family hired me to watch her four days a week. Things went really well during the initial consultation. The meeting was arranged to see if she liked me. I did her nails and then we did a puzzle. She did like me, of course, and there I was again the next Monday morning. We waved from the window as her mother drove off. This job is going to be so easy, I remember thinking… And then as soon as her mother’s car was out of site, she burst out screaming and crying. She was only four years old at the time and I was too ignorant to realize that four year olds are essentially the emotional equivalent of year old babies.

My eyes bugged out of my head. I stared at her unsure of what to do. I grew up as an only child and lived a extremely solitary existence for most of my young and adult life. I had minimal experience with children up until that point. Thankfully an inkling of maternal instinct kicked in. I picked her up and soothed her until she stopped crying.

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Filed under Friendship, Growth, Healing, Heart, Inspirational, Journal, relationships

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by | May 2, 2012 · 11:34 am

I’m Quitting Writing to Become a Stripper

I’m Quitting Writing to Become a Stripper

Yeah, right. However, not long ago a male acquaintance suggested I do just that. This really blows my mind because he was the second person to do this in the last year. I am and have always been fairly conservative, kept to myself and not any type of exhibitionist so what is it that makes them say such things?

Well the first time this was suggested to me, I was still doing okay writing but not in the eyes of my friend’s boyfriend who said it. “You should become a stripper. You have the body for it.” I got mad at him. He didn’t understand why. He thought it was a compliment. I guess as a concerned friend, he thought it could really help pay my bills…

The second time it was said to me by a person who’s formal education exceeds my own. He is obviously a moron, though. Money nor degrees can do anything about that…  ” You should become a stripper and write about it.”

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Filed under Art, Motivation, News, Sex, Uncategorized, Women

by | May 1, 2012 · 5:04 pm

My power works best in weakness

I was driving home this morning from an appointment and I was feeling kind of sad. Lately things just don’t seem to be going my way and I find little happiness in my day to day affairs. In my head as I drove, I asked God to help me and then I looked up and there was one of those billboards with a Bible verse on it glaring back at me “My power works best in weakness.” I read it and reread it. What was that suppose to mean? Was this some kind of riddle?

I was really having trouble understanding what it meant and even after Googling the verse I lacked further clarification. My power works best in weakness? I suppose it means that at your weakest point is when you need to be the strongest. That this is the time to sink or swim- will you pull yourself out of the metaphorical gutter or just waste away? I have pulled myself out of a lot of gutters, for sure. I continue to do so on most days even my worst ones. I have done it so many times that I have become self reliant- maybe too self reliant. I do not trust nor depend on other people. After being let down time and time again, I learned that trust is not something I should exercise with anyone. Even with my closest friends and family it is difficult for me. So instead of a trusting person, I have become a more do- it-yourself-take-charge person. This does not work when trying to relate to other people, however.

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