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The Pioneer Park Basketball League

There’s this guy on Twitter who keeps posting about Pioneer Park’s homeless population in a really low-brow way. He stops to take photos of what he sees as “conflicting” images, then uses them to argue against the $20 million upgrade to the park, which is slated for completion by the end of this year. One of his recent posts shows a homeless person with a necrotic arm passed out near the tennis courts while children play nearby. He uses that photo to claim the park improvements will only benefit the people who already “loiter” there between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. He fails to mention that shelters have curfews. People leave the park not because they’re done "loitering" — but because they know they’ll lose their bed and meal if they don’t check in on time. Now that I’m living near the park and connected not just by proximity but by community, I find those blind takes misguided. For the past few weeks, around 6 p.m., I’ve walked over to the basketball courts. Yes, the ones surrounde...
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Anyone Can Be Cynical

Happiness comes in troves but quickly dies off as it progresses. I've found a new outlet — one that is accepting of the weird, the unnatural, and the freedom of expression. I drive thirty minutes out of my way to get to it on weekend nights, but the 2 a.m. drive home is well worth it. I smile as I watch. I laugh as I greet. I pay attention as I stand. Excitement has finally found its way back to me. I wake up with an enthusiastic step in my walk. The once crooked smile has finally straightened itself out.

Recent life events have given me every reason to curl up in a ball and wallow in the inconveniences life has to offer. However, I've accepted that it's too self-indulgent to be cynical about this life of ours. I loved to hate. I saw the negative in you, me, and everything in between. That's no way to live. Living in distrust of those around us doesn't lead to gold.

I renamed this "hard-to-find" gathering of words Anyone Can Be Cynical because it's about finding the balance between cynicism and optimism — looking at the bright side of things. I squandered a large portion of my formidable years blaming the world and unknown higher powers, convinced they were against me. Never did I look back and acknowledge what life had given me. Reflection and the education that comes from properly pondering the past are the true paths to growth.

I romanticized a life where the girl, the job, and general success would come calling at a moment's notice. I never took the proper steps to work on them once I had what I wanted. I coasted, expecting things to magically work themselves out. In a way, they did — yet their potential was never fully realized. The voice in the back of my mind, constantly reminding me that these things would fail or forget about me, flooded my hopes for the good life. The subconscious has a funny way of showing itself, and before you realize it, it could be too late to reverse what was there all along. It's the hidden truth.