snail-like

Author's note: I'm so very sorry, for this story isn't really related to the prompt, but I really wanna share with you guys, my Reedsy readers.

Thanks and lots of love,

Naya.

Be a snail.

WhAt? hOW?

Alright, so a snail has slime trailing under it. I don’t know where it comes from, but I think I’ll know if I research but let’s just focus on the slime and not where it came from, for now. To be honest, I’m kinda icky with slimy slime, so that might be another excuse.

Anyways, yeah, a snail has slime behind it and a heavy shell on its back, its weight. Without realising, when I was in the bathroom one day, my eyes spotted this little snail, sloppily lurching forwards and my mind helped connect a few dots.

Philosophically, the shell on a snail’s back is quite like the weight we all have on our shoulders right now. It might be anything. Parents’ pressure, not-good-enough grades, freaking college exam tomorrow.

Eventually, if you keep these things to yourself and only yourself, you’re like holding in a breath. You can’t keep a breath in for long, right? Even the longest breath was about 24 minutes, which isn’t even an hour.

The same goes for your ‘shell’. If you hold in your anger, despair or just raw emotions, to yourself and not open up to anyone, in the end, your shell will burst. 

And your shell is very fragile. Get this: it’s made of glass. One slick wrong move, it falls, it shatters into a million pieces and it’s un-fix-able. You can’t fix glass. But, maybe you can, because those Chinese people are so smart, though that’s besides the point.

I’m a thousand percent sure we all have our own shells on our backs, however little it may be. It hurts, sometimes, and makes us feel a sense of despair and hopelessness that makes us feel like we wanna give up.

But don’t. There’s this Indonesian thing called “Bisikan Setan” which translates to “Devil’s Whispers”. There, a devil whispers in your ear, encouraging you to do bad things. Eurgh, don’t listen to them.

Protect your shell, keep your head down and trudge your way out, no matter how heavy the burden might seem now, at the end of the road, it’ll all tumble down and become the least of your problems.

Now, enough shell-talk.

Let's talk about slime. Okay, the slime I’m talking about isn’t the slime kids used to make with glue and borax, but what I mean is snail slime. 

Snails leave traces of slime wherever they go. I know this because I’ve seen plenty of snails slouch around, leaving snail prints, which are icky, long stretches of slime. Ew. 

So, the philosophical idea behind slime is this:

Snails leave traces wherever they go.

These traces, humans can replicate, but in a better way than leaving a whole lot of mess behind, am I right? Humans can leave traces wherever they go, and it can be either meaningful or shitty. It depends on your decision.

Y’know, I think you might be immensely confused by all this shell-talk, so I’ll do the pleasurable task of explaining things to you.

Taylor Swift. Her name is on the Billboard charts, the Grammy awards, and on everyone’s screen nowadays. She has a freaking awesome tour called the Eras tour and it’s a world tour. She gets up on that stage, and sings 44 of her songs, spending a total of 3 hours and 15 minutes, but sometimes, more.

Taylor Swift not only sings, but also changed the world’s economics. So much so, she was paid by Singapore to perform in Singapore only, and fans from all over Asia fly to Singapore to watch her sing and dance.

Taylor Swift is a billionaire, having a net worth estimation of a whopping 1.1 billion dollars, which puts her side to side with thirteen other celebrities. Her albums have been sold out, her songs repetitively played.

She’s awesome. Taylor Swift is awesome. But, if you noticed, I have written all about her traces in the three paragraphs above. She has left traces of her lyrics in the minds of tens of thousands of fans.

She has left everyone gaping at her success, and admire, respect and idolise her. She has left some of the universe’s most powerful traces on Earth. Her tour is the highest grossing tour of all time and she has left a permanent mark on history.

Now, wipe that all out and Taylor Swift dies.

Alright, I’ll stop and let you have a mini heart-attack moment, especially you Swifties out there.

I will be shocked, for I enjoy her songs and she’s one of my role models, too. Her death will be as famous, maybe even more, as Queen Elizabeth II’s death. Fans will break down and cry, America’s current critical state of finance will be even more critical, and the world will be sad.

But, even though Taylor Swift is now lying in a wooden coffin underneath the outer layer of Earth’s crust, her songs will be played even more often, for people who loved her. Let me get out of context for a second.

Taylor Swift isn’t just a pop star, but she’s also a human being. She keeps her values, and is authentic. She smiles and says a speech dedicated to her fans and her family every time she won an award and she stays humble.

Even though she might be labelled a ‘drama queen’ by some, she’s still a ‘humble bee’ to others. She smiles, she laughs, she loves, and she cries. She has feelings, and she isn’t afraid to show it.

Do you wanna listen to my assumption of why Swift is so successful? Her songs relate to other humans, her lyrics has touched the hearts of thousands, and her figure is one that many people love because she’s relatable.

The point I’m trying to tell you is that if you wanna leave slimy, permanent (sorry, cleaners) traces on this blue-green ball floating in this vast universe, you only have to do two things:

1 Create a masterpiece or a piece of art.

2 Be a human.

And I’ve tried doing both of them. It’s hard, I know. It’s hard to stabilise the steady flow of work and create a masterpiece while keeping your heated emotions in check, sharing your positive sunshine with others and keeping the gloomy days to yourself.

It sounds impossible, but as the old saying says, even the word impossible spells out “I’m Possible”. 

“But I can’t even do anything! How am I supposed to make a world-renowned masterpiece?!”

“I’m devastatingly stupid at art, I can’t even hold a pencil correctly!’’

“My parents are pressuring me to be a lawyer, so how am I to achieve my dreams if I don’t have the education I need?”

“How am I supposed to stay consistent and stable with all those horribly-hard tasks?”

Y’know, you’re right. I agree with you, it’s impossibly hard. But, then again, you don’t need to be a masterpiece to leave perpetual prints on this world. You can simply do so by smiling at everyone you walk past, and don’t care if they think you’re a crazy malicious psychopath for doing so.

Try and make the most memorable memories you can with your loved ones, like your family, your friends, your business/study buddies. Make sure you give them benefits by being with you. Make sure they feel appreciated, gifted, loved and cared for. 

Then, you’ll be remembered as a loyal friend, a loving person, a caring soul, and most importantly a good human being.

But. 

Oh, yeah, I know we all hate buts, but this is the most important ‘but’ I’ve come to write.

But, you still need to create something.

Write a book, then your name will forever be on the spine of your book.

Write a song, then your name will forever be on Spotify or Apple Music.

Make a painting, then your name will forever be on the little corner of the canvas.

Make art, in the form of a song, a drawing/painting, a book or quite literally anything you’d like. Make sure that your name will be remembered in this generation and the next by focusing on the one thing you love to do the most and pouring your heart and soul into your art piece. 

And with that, I wish you luck and our little shell-talk has come to an end.

Good luck.

Thank you.

Good bye.

And see you on the eternal side!