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Sarah, 18, Singapore
(click the flower above for older entries)

Twitter: @sarahbananachan
Instagram: hisarahnademe


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Some grateful thoughts
Saturday, May 31, 2014 || 12:28 PM


So often I write about people who anger me, or hurt me, or tear down - no, rip apart - my walls and leave without so much as an attempt of an apology. I have the propensity to leave out the good ones - and I think it's high time to acknowledge them and provide them with the recognition they so deserve. After all, life's not all heartbreak and second guessing - life is good. Life is wonderful and filled with people who love you so much (beyond your understanding) and I should start treating it as such.

(Each "you'' in each paragraph is a different person who leaves me thankful that I have 'em around. Hehehe do you want to guess which paragraph is about yourself if there is one)

I am grateful for you, who knows exactly what type of chocolate I like and hands them out to me like water from a tap. You who reminds me that hard times are ephemeral and you who goes out of your way to spend time with me so I feel less withdrawn. You share yourself with me and to return the favour you allow me to do the same. Both of us, so hidden in our own elements yet we managed to find each other.

I am grateful for you, because I really (really) like your smile. I want to permanently fix your face into that smile and bring it home in my pocket; only I know that the rarity of your smiles makes them even better. I like it when you smile at me - there is something about the slant of your mouth and the way your eyes dance when we make eye contact that makes me feel like we are sharing a secret; you feel like my secret. It is a special talent you have - I have never known anyone who is able to make me feel like their smile is classified information. You do.

I am grateful for you because you look genuinely happy to see me when you see me around. God, I love people like you - people who look pleasantly surprised to see you, even if just in crossing. We barely know each other, yet you make me feel special. I want to bottle the way your face lights up and the way you smile when you see me and keep it at home. Save it for rainy days and even then, be reluctant to open it because I want to preserve how you make me feel.

I am grateful for you, who tolerates my sporadic replies (I am such a terrible texter) and who still wants to talk to me nonetheless. You make me feel special and important and... needed and honestly I'm bewildered about why you even like me so much because I feel like a terrible friend but you've never wanted to stop being mine. I've always been slightly afraid that you would get bored of me (distance is an untimely and terrible thing) but you allay my fears by never acting like it.

I am grateful for you, who knows not to ask questions because your sixth sense tells you I don't want to answer them. I have never known another person more sensitive to my feelings - you accept that I'm secretive and you love me still. I am inconsistent yet you are steady; dependable. You remind me of concrete - you hold my bricks together; you are reliable and sturdy and tough.

..... I'm pretty damn lucky to have all of you.

A work of fiction #1
Saturday, May 24, 2014 || 12:51 PM

(I don't have the habit of posting my fictional works here - maybe I should have a site for that - so bear with me if you're only kpo about my life and thoughts and not this shit)
(Disorganised but shit I haven't written in so long) 

Dear                      ,

I cannot bring myself to write your name, because to write it is to think it - and your nomenclature echoed in my head leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Each syllable surfaces an indignant memory I am only trying to drown. You once told me you felt like changing your name because you hate the way it sounds when it comes out of the mouths of the people you despise - note to myself to never say your name again so you never have to feel that way once more (I'm probably on the top of your list of people you hate).

I've always loved your name - when you first introduced yourself I wondered how someone with so many rough edges and bruised palms and skinned kneecaps could have such a pretty and delicate name. I wonder if your parents looked at you when you were a newborn and matched your raw features and essence to a suitable name - gave you the most beautiful name they could think of because despite all newborns looking pretty much the same, you were the most beautiful baby in the Universe to them because they so hopelessly loved you. Or if they planned your name months before, years before you were born - plucked your name from movies or books for their future children knowing that one day you would come along and fill it in.

I think of the way your lips curve when you smile, the way your eyes dart left and right (damn it you're so freaking cute), the brevity of your smirks and the way being with you is almost celestial - and I could not possibly choose another name to fit you; you fit your name perfectly. Being with you is both comfortable and exciting - it is neither one or the other but a perfect synthesis of the two - I'm not exactly sure how you manage to both be the storm and the calm seas but you once told me to question a little less and live a little more so I accepted how you made me feel. You were - no, are - the most volatile person I know, yet at night when I watch your eyelashes flutter and the veins on your closed eyelids as you lay perfectly still, I wonder how such an effervescent human can be so serene.

We never had any labels and I was never exactly sure of what we were - "Who cares what we are? I'm happy." you would argue. I care. I care. I never retaliated for the fear of losing you but here I am, telling you that I care and that maybe I need labels and despite your free spirit and lack of desire for anything certain, I needed confirmation. I know it's too late and this letter is just me screaming into a void; an eclipse, but damn it, I'm sorry for all the times we fought and all the times I was never honest and maybe if I forced you to talk about the uncertainty that was so alive between us maybe I never would have lost you.

Love,
Me (I choose not to write my name either because you probably don't like reading it as well)

P.S I hope you still take your vitamins. It's flu season.

P.P.S ........ Yeah.

Good music for my ears and soul
Wednesday, May 21, 2014 || 9:27 PM







Eargasmic

Too much angst but you ellicit such feelings, so
Thursday, May 15, 2014 || 8:53 AM

#1. I hate that you plowed my lawn and planted your seeds here, embedding them in the depths of the richest part of the soil I own. You were never welcome, yet you god damned uprooted other plants I carefully selected to shove in your own and now you're telling me these seeds don't bear fruit. TAKE YOUR DAMN SEEDS OUT OF MY GARDEN IF THEY'RE NEVER GOING TO AMOUNT TO ANYTHING - I've had it with your insouciance

#2. I hate that you make lame excuses to get out of doing things you don't want to do. God, do you think I'm an idiot? Your excuses aren't exactly stained glass windows - you bequeath me with lies that are as transparent as anything. Here's something you ought to know about me: I'm excellent at seeing through deception. You act as if I weren't. 

#3. I hate that you're sporadic. I am too -
God knows I am the epitome of inconsistence - but you were supposed to be everything I wasn't. You were the promise of something different - I've dealt with myself enough. 

#4. I hate your stupid school bag it looks like every other school bag on the planet and it reminds me that you are just the same as every other person on this planet

#5 I hate your shoes - they are falling apart at the seams. Get decent shoes 

#5. I hate you.

#6. I hate the way you make me feel. 

#7. I hate you.

Reasons to hate you #29378272347
Monday, May 12, 2014 || 11:07 PM

You were the one who started it, stringing me along like the pearls of the necklace you keep in your top drawer reserved for someone else. Now you blame me for getting attached and wanting you around so you fled, then GOD DAMN IT YOU SHOULDN't HAVE CAME ALONG I WAS FINE WITHOUT YOU BEFORE 

Thoughts that are all over the place
Saturday, April 12, 2014 || 8:46 AM

My gums really hurt. Or at least, the right side all the way at the back of my mouth does. My family think it's my wisdom tooth that's growing out - I feel grown up. As a little kid, I used to anticipate this with fervour - big girls have their wisdom tooth grown out. It's called "wisdom tooth" because you're getting wiser. The niggling feeling of ceaseless pain at the back of your mouth starts getting comforting - there might not be a lot of things you know to be sure in this world but at least you're certain you are going to hurt in the same place every single day. The way some people find a home in pain is perverse, for sure - but at least intangible homes are better than ones you can touch and then feel them escape your grasp and slip out of your fingers. You can't make homes out of human beings - I know that. Most people want the pain to vacate them so bad - they have the propensity to dive into people who have the potential to eliminate their pain. They settle for mismatched ideals and zero chemistry, succumbing to the warmth of the intoxicating promise of reduced hurt. What they don't realise is they've become accustomed to the pain - they aren't "fixer uppers". We're not houses. We don't need repair.
Either way, I'm heading to the dentist later to see what he can do with my wisdom tooth. Pain or not, I don't think it's safe to leave it unchecked.

Revelations #2
Thursday, March 20, 2014 || 8:54 AM


On three separate occasions I've been described as "relatable". It is difficult for me to comprehend this because I've always placed myself in a category separate from others - the different one. Often times, I am deeply convinced that my thoughts are perhaps a bit too.... intense for others. I've written countless of unpublished drafts here, not posting them simply because I felt that no one could understand - a deeply entrenched resistance against opening myself up to other people. I've always had problems with this... "open" thing. The idea of surrendering yourself (even a little) is unnerving - I hate the thought of being so vulnerable to others. That meant they could hurt you if they wanted to; you're an open wound. I don't like having my weaknesses being used against me. I have the propensity to spend so much time alone in my head, and I think this is where my belief that I am "intense" stems from. Maybe if I just let myself go - just a little - I would realise that everyone has these thoughts. Maybe I am relatable and contrary to my own belief, just like everybody else. 

Thoughts about school
Sunday, March 16, 2014 || 11:14 PM

1. Jokes are being told every day - people are funny. The things that they say elicits laughter. The drill is pretty standard - someone says something funny; giggling ensues. I smile because that is what you are supposed to do; I laugh because you're cute and what you just said made me want to.

2. Strange faces are starting etch themselves on the surface of your brain - dammit, these strangers are becoming familiar. Who is that? I don't know your name but I know your face and the bag you carry and the way you laugh way too loudly. I don't know your story but I know what you had for lunch last week. The faces you see are the ones you run into every day; you notice a hair cut or a different hair style or the newly minted tired look on their face. You know them.... but not really. You want to say something but you hold back.

3. Today we had a good break. We laughed and swapped stories over tasteless meals. No one looked at the chipped edges of the yellow table because we were too busy looking at each other. 

4. Today we had a not-so-good break. We used our phones and hid our faces because we had nothing to say to each other. No one ate - and I was the one who chipped off the edges of the yellow table. 

5. Two words: Rat race. Do you feel it? I do. Then again, I have the propensity to feel such things too strongly. Have you done question 1 of worksheet 3? No, I haven't - you have? That makes me feel shitty and suffocated and anxious (and like a loser - let's not forget that). 12/15? She got 13. Why didn't I get 13? I could have - no, I should have. This transcends my capabilities, I start to think. Been there, done that. 

6. We shouldn't care about such things.

7. We all care about such things.

8. 17 and 18 year olds are a bucket of hormones.

9. I don't feel like myself. I feel minimised, scaled down. Less filled with life; less filled with me. 

10. Often times I wish I could hit the restart button on Junior College life - I cannot help the niggling feeling in the depths of my stomach I'm doing it all wrong. For so long I've been wondering (and anticipating) these two years - God, when I was 13, these JC kids seemed so grown up. They looked so smart and old - old enough to wear their skirts as short as they liked; old enough to slip their hands through hands of boys they didn't know. When I was 15, I thought when I went to JC life would snap into place for me. I'd finally reach my full potential and achieve what I've been coveting since forever - all rounded-ness. I didn't think about the short skirts or the strange boys. Now I feel scared - I can't help but feel like I'm already off to a wrong start. Two years is a short time (ephemeral at it's finest).... I am just nervous I'll wreck it like I did so many other things. Now at 17, all I want from these two years is personal achievement. Success - for once at last. 

Two good songs for six (and a half) fulfilling minutes
Saturday, March 8, 2014 || 9:21 PM


Throwback to when I was 15 and obsessed with Brendon Urie and this was my favourite song because I looooved hearing him say my name



(Just a song I can relate to exceedingly well right now. Damn)

Realisations
Tuesday, March 4, 2014 || 6:02 PM


It's frustrating to watch you fade out of my life - my personality does not beget this. More often than not, it is I who lets go of the last strands of rope holding two people together. The ghost of a former friend. I am the one that finishes the conversation. I am the one that finishes the friendship. I am the one that doesn't respond. 

This is a whole new ball game (wow @ the sports lingo, Sarah). I am usually too fond of slipping in and out of people's lives, pulling disappearing acts whenever I desire. Not to say I won't be there at a beck and call, but it is in my nature to hold the door open and let people go when they want to leave. For you... I set my ego aside (and shit you... you know I am a bucket of pride) and I tried to pull you back in. Stringing you back in once was a difficult thing for me to do; god damn your ephemeral feelings. Damn your fickle mind, or maybe it was never fickle - you were just bad at expressing your emotions. Well then, damn that. Once bitten twice shy - now that you've slipped away from within my grasp again, I'm not going to be the fool that reaches out a second time. 

I've realised that the chase wasn't - no, isn't - worth the prize. Much like a game of tug and war, so what if I win if all I end up with is bloodied knees and bruised palms and the end of a fraying old rope? There is no need to be a victor when the victory proves to be only a pyrrhic one. 

Regarding physical appearance:
Saturday, March 1, 2014 || 6:45 PM

Blood under her fingernails. She scratches distractedly all the time - bursting open her skin bag to reveal what lays underneath. She scratches when she is busy, or bored, or stressed. Blood spills out of her open wounds, blood - red, sticky, recognisable. The scars all over her legs are testament to this habit she has - fifty cent coins, her mother calls them. She does not do this on purpose, no - she simply finds comfort in scratching and picking her scabs; the edge of her fingernails drawn along the surface of her skin with an unmistakable rhythm. It never hurt, just felt good. She does not do this on purpose - the last thing she wants to do is hurt herself. Scratch, scratch, scratch - blood under her fingernails equals ugly skin equals ugly girl. She knew - no she knows - that. How unfortunate it was to have a habit that made you ugly. 

He liked how dark, shiny surfaces reflect. That meant every dark, shiny surface he passed was another opportunity for him to look at himself. His pretty, pretty face - he never expected himself to have great fortunes in life because he had already struck the genetic jackpot. He felt he could not be lucky again because he got hit by his biggest windfall even before he had his first taste of life. He hated admitting this, but sometimes he marvelled at the contours of his face - how can two eyes, a nose and a mouth look so damn good when all pieced together? It made things so... easy. Cutting queues, getting girls, turning them down. Everyone was nice to him - except bitter girls who cruelly spat in his direction, "You don't know love, you only know yourself." When he heard that, he wondered if he was just nothing but a pretty face. It haunts him on nights he feels that is true.

Life updates #2
Thursday, February 27, 2014 || 11:34 PM

1) Trying reaaaally hard to get over it. I feel lame doing something so juvenile like deleting numbers off my phone... but hey.  I'm good at taking hints - I'll leave you alone. Don't worry about it - I'll move on. I always do.

2) I've never had such violent thoughts about my phone. You know when you're sort of waiting for someone to text you and your phone buzzes (happy buzz sounds - I loveeee the feel of my phone buzzing. I feel like it is always potential for something exciting). Alas, it is some stupid message from someone else. URRHHRGHHHH. I want to throw my phone against the wall :(

3) My speech patterns have changed. I'm injecting a lot more singlish into my speech now... and if you are shocked, you should be. HAHA. If you are my friend from before JC please let's meet up so you can gape at how I talk like now 

4) I know I am somewhat... enigmatic. I'm sorry but I was just never an open book and I'd like it to remain that way, okay?? Don't be an ass 

5) School has been repetitive to say the least. I often wish I had the chance to restart. Life seemed so... promising back then. The whole "you'll nEVER KNOW" factor was a damn tease - but it was promising. Filled with hope. The unknown was exciting - now life is getting predictable. I can pretty much already form visions in my head on how my life is going to be like for the next two years (I don't like that. In my head, I don't look happy).

6) Dance is really fun but tiring - in a very good way. It leaves me drained but more energetic at the same time. 

7) Nothing i'm writing these days is satisfying me... everything I write makes me frustrated and filled with second guesses. I need the easy fluidity I used to write with, these posts feel lacklustre

8) "They make me happy. I like them. But I want them out of my life forever." Words I uttered today. True: those bits of my life (your bits - I think you deserve the right to own them) are no longer part of anything I stand for but

9) As I am climbing up the ladder of my prophecies for myself, forgetting you proves to be easy. Hopefully I'll get further and further up the ladder - things are looking up :) 

I know it's almost the end of February, but I'm hitting the refresh button
Sunday, February 23, 2014 || 11:00 AM

This post is a post I probably should have written a long time ago... but I guess I was distracted. For two months, I mildly lost track of my life - distracted by the new things constantly being thrown in my face. Everything was new! shiny! bright! it made me (temporarily) forget my goals. I became confused... deluded. Thrown off my curve. I've already broken several of my rules. For several months before I started school, I was enamored by the whole idea of being a "protagonist". No - I was obsessed. I was deeply convinced that if I retreated into my own shell - I would win (Win at what, exactly? I don't think I was ever sure - I just liked winning). I've already broken that bit - I'm not really sure who I am anymore. I always thought I was an introvert - but I find myself initiating small talk these days (I've realised that throughout my life, I've never had a problem finding a reasonably large group of friends. Is this normal for someone who is so uncomfortable around strangers? Idek).

I think it is time to lay down some new ground rules. The fact that I can just "rebrand" myself just drives me crazy - I love that. It's not often I am given these chances, so maybe I am panicking just a bit too much and I'm constantly terrified that I'm screwing it up and doing it all wrong. In this new environment, I feel like myself - only minimised. Myself - only smaller. The things that people used to identify me with they no longer do here. The "English/Literature" girl - well, I don't even take Lit anymore. That part of my life is gone forever, when I used to identify so strongly with it. That's great. I need a fresh start - a clean sheet of paper. I'm huge sucker for all things "clean", by clean I mean minimalist and empty and strong. Ever since I was little, I'd like to imagine myself with a wire sponge (the kind you use to really scrub burnt areas of pots and pans) and scrub my brain until it was squeaky clean. I never liked clutter. It made my brain hurt. (I think this stemmed from my love of perfection.)

so 2014

I think it's time to realise what I really, really want - and push to get those things. One day I could become my own self-fulfilled prophecy. No more burdens or being dragged around by chains; strapped down by heavy weights. No unnecessary attachments to people/things/places ... here's to my life that's ahead of me (you're not in it). I already have my resolutions all written down (since 31st Dec 2013 actually) and if I follow them staunchly everything should be A-OK (I already broke one of them but you can be damn sure it's not happening again). I think I'm not very good with balance - I like pushing things all the way to the extremes. But, hey - if it helps me achieve my goals, why not? I think maybe I overestimate myself. This is strength training, I insist. Is it though?

On an entirely different note: I'M HAVING SECOND THOUGHTS ABOUT LEAVING I KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN IF I WENT TO JC I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT AAAAARGH (stay strong Sarah remember your goals remember your future)

Attempts in convincing myself
Saturday, February 22, 2014 || 7:27 PM

I don't care I don't care I don't care I don't care I don't care I don't care I don't care I don't care I don't care I don't care I don't care I don't care I don't care I don't care I don't care I don't care I don't care I don't care OK maybe I kind of care but just wait a few days - a week, tops - I won't anymore because you are so not worth it 

There is nothing I can say or do to convince another person you are nothing more than another person walking along a street, dressed inappropriately for the weather. You are not special 
Maybe to someone else - but not me.

Getting you would be a pyrrhic victory - a complete waste of my time. 

So bye. See you never. 

Life updates
Wednesday, February 19, 2014 || 8:51 PM

#1. You are making me sad and annoyed with your stupid games and idk if you're doing this on purpose but.. bye:(:(:( I'm so over it. All the best in life, I don't care

#2. Break Your Little Heart by All Time Low is by far the best song to listen to when someone hurts you (try it). I just get so... empowered by it. Maybe in a bad/selfish way, but hey, at least I don't feel so shitty anymore

#3. I have been eating A LOT as compared to the previous week in my old school. I guess my body is settled and ready to devour, even if my heart/head isn't. 

#4. I can't wait to get fit again... Nothing worse than feeling sluggish in your own body. I'm dragging around dead weight like it's strapped to my ankles. Bad bad BAD to feel like a prisoner in your own skin.

#5. Days have been busy but I can't wait to get busier and busier until I'm officially swamped. Not much of a fan of empty pockets of time... I am A-OK with struggling to breathe. Maybe I'm a sadist,  but.... 
(I might regret ever saying this)

#6. The bus ride home is the most peaceful thing EVER. Why have I spent the last 16 years on trains??! Trains are sweaty and difficult and a general pain in the ass. I love that 154 is usually a double decker, the front seat of the second floor of the bus is my choice seat. Music + a window to gaze out of = peace


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