BYFA

Aleesha Eccleston

Deception: The Beauty & The Beast Effect 

A gold bar necklace consumed by humble words, words and sayings that we all get from both family and friends. That one nickname that shows a connection, that bond with another. A gold necklace any kid would want as it's like a memory from one person to another. Whether we like it or not, it was still once something we adored or were part of.

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This gold necklace was my connection to my oldest brother. It held a significance to me, since I moved from New York to Baltimore about three years ago, I haven’t been able to see my brother as often as I used to since we lived together.

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We see many different views and angles of what something can be, but we only see what is right in front of us, never the full picture. We are surrounded by many different outcomes of life -The Beauty & The Beast effect. Yet an object or a view can be altered by how we deceive it. An image is not just light and dark with its basic outlook, but it's really how you look at two images whether they are alike or completely differ from one another. It tells a simple fairytale, judging what we see without understanding the whole picture. Just like the Beast being judged by the village, but yet he turned out to be a kind person cursed for being judged.

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Division - Consider a peaceful body of water, perhaps a stream that is consumed by nature. And if you follow the path in the other direction, you see it's being torn down and polluted by us. The garbage, the gunk, all trapped under the water. Aren’t we all trapped under a body of water…? We as individuals get stuck in an everyday cycle. We wake up and do a daily routine, checking off boxes with a few different marks every so often. We do this daily cycle until one day there's that feeling some get to not want to be trapped in a daily routine. When coming to this realization, we see how vivid the never-ending cycle is of how we have done almost the same tasks every day.

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The sound of the birds chirping sounds like a rhythm of communication, with each different bird having its own melody through its chirps. It is delightful because it brings forth a calming energy and nature. We see birds being one that have an assortment of different types of birds, going down from color to pattern to how high or low their sound of their chirps makes. It's all different but the same, because it all connects to one bird surrounded by different sounds. These sounds of the birds chirping teaches me that I favor communication because it can lead to harmony with yourself and others. Seeing the connection and vibe the birds have with one another is how communities are when they come together in a revolutionary harmony, we make more change when we come together. This harmony can be felt with many different people that are close to you, like a friend. I have what I feel is an amazing harmony with my best friend. See, she is something, someone I left behind when I moved to Baltimore, yet we never lost our connection. We could always pick up where we left off and/or just make new memories; we catch each other up by telling each other “the tea” but harmoniously. Never losing what we have and not focusing on what we can’t do, but more of what we can do to make it better, just like the birds who make it. Even though they might not be the same or even live in the same climate, state, or country, they still have something connecting them. Just like me and my best friend's connection to one another, staying strong since elementary, now almost off in the “real world” leaving our nest soon but with the potential of being in the same destination by migrating just like the birds. Only 205.1 miles away feeling like we’re 1,000 miles away from each, other never forgetting what makes us connected.

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The clicking of the fan is like a tap of a pen in a quiet classroom. nothing surrounding, it's just isolated from all other noise, just the fan making a click with every motion. The air from the fan is moving like a soft breeze, making it delightful to feel the air on your skin. And it is so elegant, even through the clicking sound of the fan. When I tap the pen on my desk in such silence it reminds me of the fan because of how similar but different it is. Kind of how one feels in society, moreover my place in society and the connections I have with others. We are all different but the same, as we are all humans placed on one earth, but isolated by our own thoughts and daily livelihood.

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That subtle grace of wind against the tapestry sounds like the crackling or wishing of a flag on a pole pridefully repping its country. The sound of the wind moving against my tapestry is delightful because it shows freedom. It moves at its own pace and sound. There's no sense of urgency, it just is, no rush. Kind of like when you're lying on a beach chilling in the cool sand with no need of worry. Reminds me of the thinking man. That feeling I have while lying on the beach is what associates me to the sound of the wind brushing against the tapestry and is calming. Teaching me how I should relax more as it would create less stress, which would be better for my mental health.

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But since then, this necklace has gone, giving and showing a sadness to its departure of its absence, something held dearly to me. It was a necklace that said “Princess Alee,” princess in being how my brother viewed me as his baby sis and Alee being his nickname for me. It was a reminder of our bond as the younger sister and the older brother.

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See though, as I got older, soon after losing it, I learned that an object is not a person and I still have the memories. At the end of the day, it was just some materialistic thing that can never be replaced by my brother who gave it to me. A quote from Julie Herbert reminded me of this, “May there be comfort in knowing that someone so special will never be forgotten.” This quote knocked me right back into reality, just cuz one's role has changed through its daily rhythm doesn’t mean they are gone or less than, it just means they play a different beat in your life with the same role.