My brother is studying abroad in Japan, Thailand, and Malaysia for the summer. We dropped him off at the airport early this morning, but we’ve been preparing for this for a while now. Back when I was doing the Poem-A-Day Challenge on Writer’s Digest, one of the prompts was “Across the Ocean.” I decided to write a series of haikus called “Postcards,” which is told in the point of view of my brother writing postcards to me. Pray for his... Read more
I’m starting to long for the days when the internet was fighting over a dress. I first saw someone talking about the Charlie Charlie Challenge (also put under the hashtag “Real Charlie Challenge” or just “Charlie Challenge) on Instagram and I really hoped it was a hoax, but apparently, this unbelievably stupid idea has gone viral. So being the social media addict that I am, I took to warning my dear Instagram friends and am now doing the same for this... Read more
Mary Katharine Cieslak is 22 year-old college grad who aspires to be a filmmaker, whatever that may mean in this ever-changing media landscape. 1) Tell me your “coming out” story. I mean, my “coming out” story is still happening: I only just came out to my little sister last week!! That’s two out of eight people in my immediate family. Personally, I find people’s stories of coming out to themselves infinitely more fascinating. I think in cultures where it is... Read more
It started with a minor kitchen accident. I was cooking lunch: pork chops marinated with orange juice. Unfortunately, I accidentally spilled some of the marinade over the stove range, causing the pilot light to go out. The constant clicks made me think that my kitchen was going to explode. (That’s what I get for binge-watching Burn Notice.) Thankfully, my mom and my brother were able to handle the situation. What did I do? I panicked. I never had to deal... Read more
I used to be afraid of thunderstorms. While I’ve gotten over it for the most part, I still hate it when I’m in a car as sheets of pouring rain fall around and whenever lightning flashes every other second, especially if it comes in the form of chain lightning. But given that I live in Houston, enduring bad weather inside a car is pretty much inevitable. I don’t know if ti’s just a Catholic thing, but I consider my life to... Read more
So I did a lot of reading during my four-day vacation in Florida. One book I read was Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Taylor Marshall put the book on his list of his favorite Catholic novels other than Lord of the Rings, even though the book isn’t written by a Catholic. I loved the book from beginning to end, but the one thing that sticks out at me is the character of Mina Harker, nee Murray. Despite of the way she was... Read more
Fifteen-year-old Allie Grant lives crippled by her illness. Though kept in isolation, she’s never alone: A spirit named Song lurks in the silence of her bedroom. When Song reveals its dark nature on the night of her recital, the show ends in tragedy. Verging on death, Allie’s taken in by an uncle she’s never met. Julian claims to be a Muse with power over music and answers that’ll heal her. The cure she needs is rare, requiring of him a... Read more
In the world of television, theatre, and other media that involves actors, there are always going to be changes. Such in the case of the web original sitcom “Ordinary.” Timothy Quigley, the creator of Ordinary, recently announced that three of the major actors have left the show. Given that the show was crowdfunded, Timothy turned to his audience for help regarding this situation. (I voted for option C, which involves Ruthie and Frances being so badly damaged by the fire that they... Read more
So I was pretty much out for four whole days, travelling to New Orleans and Northwest Florida. It was a really good weekend, given the beauty of St. Louis Cathedral and the gorgeous view from my hotel room and the epic awesomeness that was the Bad Blood music video by Taylor Swift. The first stop on our road trip was New Orleans. When I first wanted to go to New Orleans, we got lost and ended up in some run-down areas.... Read more
I’ve mentioned on here before that although I want to get to know what it’s like to be a nun more, I haven’t exactly been provided with opportunities to do so. I do have a wonderful nun who acts as my spiritual director, but she’s told me that pursuing religious life would be harder for me because I have more liabilities. What are my liabilities, you ask? Mainly the fact that I have autism and that I have a long... Read more
Monique Ocampo Writes
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