Naomi's Corner

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Things didn't automatically go from horrible to amazing like Naomi thought they would after joining the school newspaper, but things were definitely improving. She now has friends who she could have a genuine conversation with besides Cassidy, which was great because the always seemed to know the right things to say to help her get through her struggles. Her grades were starting to improve due to the fact that she was on academic probation for the school newspaper, and that you need at least a 3.0 GPA in order to continue being apart of the club. But Naomi still felt weird at her high school and I'm life in general. She wasn't entirely sure of what she was doing at the school newspaper or what her purpose in life was at that moment period. This sounds deep and very very emo for a 14 year old girl but she often wondered if the world would be a better place without her. Even though she had new friends, (Khylah and Reece) she still felt like a third wheel whenever she hung out with them and that she distracted them from their relationship. Whenever she tried to give them their personal space so that they could hang out like a normal couple or when she asked them if they felt like she was an annoying third wheel they always responded with their usual "No, if course not, you're out friend, and we love hanging out with you!" But Naomi knew better. She knew that if she were in a relationship she wouldn't always want a third wheel hanging around no matter how much she loved or enjoyed being around that person. But Khylah and Reece weren't the only people that Naomi felt like a liability to. Even though she had been living with Cassidy and her mother for a good 2 months now she still felt like a liability to them both. She still felt like all she did was take all their money and food and that the only reason she still lived with them was because they took pity on her and that they wanted to be good samaritans by taking her in when her mother wouldn't let her life with her. Naomi often offered to move out and to try to get a workers permit so that she could get a part time job and at least make enough money in order to by herself some food. Whenever she offered this Cassidy and her mother both refused, and looked kind of hurt. They always continued to claim how much they enjoy Naomi's company and how amazing it is to have a third roommate. Naomi enjoyed their company as well and she never meant to hurt or offended them whenever she offered this. She just didn't want to get in their way. She didn't want to be a liability to anyone and she most defiantly did not want anyone to waste their time or money on her. Naomi simply just wanted to feel loved without being pitied.

Naomi had joined the newspaper 2 weeks ago and still hasn't published a single article. Ever since she got there all she had done was get Khylah her daily starbucks, offer her ideas and opinions on different topics that Khylah and the few other members whom she didn't know very well her asked about when it came to writing articles, and she occasionally helped with Khylah's cat she eyeliner when she ran late in the morning. She was basically an intern to the team, and her and Khylah both wanted her to be more than just that. Khylah often asked her to write pieces for the newspaper but Naomi refused. She wanted to write articles for the newspaper just as much as Khylah wanted her to buy she just didn't believe in herself. Naomi always read the newspaper as soon as it was finished, and she was always very excited for it because of the quality of the work and the articles written. Everything that was written in the newspaper was crazy amazing and well told, especially the articles that were written by Khylah. Whenever Khylah wrote an article she told a story. It could be about a topic as boring as what's being served in the school cafeteria, and she still found a way to make it sound interesting! Nothing that Naomi could write would ever be as phenomenal or even come close to what Khylah had to write. She didn't even deserve to be offered the opportunity to write articles alongside Khylah, or to even be apart of the newspaper club. "When everyone feels sorry for you you start to feel sorry for yourself I suppose," Naomi thought to herself as she sat in her desk in the tiny room that served as the space for the newspaper club Monday morning as a billion thoughts raced through her head. At the end of the meeting Khylah walked over to Naomi's desk, but Naomi was too busy lost in her own thoughts to even notice. "Naomi?" Khylah said. Naomi still lost in her thoughts blankly stared at the wall behind Khylah, still not noticing she was there. "NAOMI!!" Khylah shouted at the top of her lungs. Miami's eyes fluttered and than looked at Khylah. She defiantly had her attention now. "Wassup?" Naomi asked, plastering a pretend smile on her face. "Why haven't you written any articles yet," Khylah asked. Naomi considered lying to her. She considered telling her that she was simply too busy or too focused on her schoolwork to be a true asset to the team but she decided to tell her the truth. She told her how nothing that she would ever write would be good enough to be alongside her work or any of the other writers for that matter. Khylah just looked at her and smiled. "I'm glad you think I'm an amazing writer," she began. "But you don't know whether or not you're good at something until you at least try! I think you could have potential!" "Thanks, but I don't even know what to write about," Naomi told her. "You're thinking too hard," Khylah said knowingly. "Any great article or story starts by writers writing about what's around them, what inspired them. Once you have a pencil and piece of paper in your hand, or a computer, or even a cell phone in your hands, just look around you, inside you for experiences, memories, ideas. You'll be surprised how you can make an entire story out of the tiniest moments." When Khylah said this Naomi suddenly knew exactly what to write. Her genius words made a huge, amazing idea pop into Naomi's mind like a lightbulb. "I have the perfect idea of what to write now! Thanks Khylah, honestly you're a genius," Naomi said hugging her. "No problem," Khylah chuckled, and the two girls were off to their first period classes.