So, not like the oatmeal. No, we didn’t die out in the 1600s or whatever. And no I’m not Amish.
Quakers make up the Religious Society of Friends. We are peaceful, pacifists, always loving, never judgmental, and live with simplicity. Or… we try to? The main thing I’d like people to understand about Quakers is the the name, in itself, is a broad term. Many of us do not identify as Christian, but something separate all together and more universal. Some Quakers read and worship the Bible, while other do not. There is no big, scary initiation into Quakerism. We are just a group of people who believe we each have a direct connection with God. Or, some sort of higher being. My God may be different from yours, and that is ok. Our churches are called meeting houses, as we have meetings (ie. pray time). They can get pretty big, to accommodate for lots of people, but we try to keep them simple. We don’t believe that we need any sort of special space to connect with the Light, and decorations can be distracting. Pews are usually arranged to face each other in a circle. And we sit like that, for an hour of silence. The cool thing is, my mom and I had our own Quaker service this morning. She found a query (a thought provoking question with no definite answer) and we sat with each other on the couch. Ten minutes. That was all, but we both spoke for a moment when we felt moved to. And I can’t quite explain the power and emptying your mind and being in the space you are in. Personally, I have two beliefs I hold strong. My God is the Light. All the good things that exist and and overall something That I can’t quite put my finger on. And every single human being has a little bit of that Light in them, as hard as it may be, even for me, to believe. But, if they have that of God in them, who am I to judge? I do not know what they have been through, and this is not excusing anyone. It carries over to more extreme cases. Like, death. I believe that, since you have the Light in you, no one but God can judge your life. Why is one soul more valuable than the next? That is one reason we don’t believe in war. That is certainly true for me. I can’t justify murder or the death penalty. And, people have tried to “catch me” with what ifs. No, I do NOT blame victims if they killed their attacker or abuser out of self- defense. But, in other scenarios I do wish for second options. No, I am NOT anti-choice; abortion is NOT murder, and it can save the pregnant woman’s life (whatever her reason). Yes, I believe in punishment, but taking a life goes too far for me. These are my beliefs. My spirituality, my religion, is only my own. I do not want to hurt anyone. In my actions, I try to help as many people as I can. Because I believe in the Light. I know that good things are possible. No matter how unlikely if may feel at 2am. I am always growing and changing, so do my Truths. And so do everyone else’s.
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I was skeptical. Fanfiction is a genre and style of writing based on an pre-existing book/movie/storyline. You might write about Harry and Ron living without magic or do a crossover of Star Wars and the Hunger Games. You can change close to everything about a story, or only a small detail, to rewrite a new one yourself. People often change a character’s environment or what might have happened after the official ending. Either way, I never thought much about it.
For years, I put off as something for beginning writers who couldn’t come up with strong characters on their own. Whatever it was, it seemed silly. That is, until, my (NOW PUBLISHED) cousin told me that she loved it. I had to rethink it, if this amazing person who I respect so much, told me to try it, why not? There must be something to it, I thought to myself. It started as a writing exercise for characterization in general. Just a page in my notebook about the Percy Jackson series. That turned into a ten-thousand-word short story within a few weeks. I can officially say that I’ve come to the dark side. Fanfiction can be liberating and fun. I haven’t read Percy Jackson in years, but the story has come rushing back. I loved those books so much in 5th grade and it makes me feel safe to dream in their world again. I have written an absurd amount of different fanfiction by now and I am not apologizing. I am welcoming novice and experienced writers to try it. Choose a story you like. Write a page. Think about the dialogue; how would they say it? Write from your favorite character’s point of view; in this scenario, what would they be thinking? If you end up trying it, I hope you had fun! I'm just going to leave this here because it helps me sometimes.
My friend and I, co-founders of our local SAGA club, have compiled a living document, a list of songs, Youtubers and videos, out and proud people, books (fiction and non-fiction), TV shows, movies, misc. formats, articles, TED Talks, other resources, and some hotlines. I hope you find something helpful or intriguing. Feel free to share as you see fit!
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Who Am I?Hi there! I'm Whit, my pronouns are they/them, and I write a lot.
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Painting by Whit Acrylics on masonite April 20th, 2019 Words are a Quaker saying. George Fox? |