ILLUMINATION Challenge
Monthly Gems Discovered by Agnes Laurens
Why I like reading their stories and what makes them the writer they are
Every now and then I like to be challenged, and getting out of my comfort zone, even when it takes a lot of energy. Dr Mehmet Yildiz challenged us again, here on ILLUMINATION.
I love to discover new writers and read their work.
There are so many incredible writers here on Medium. So I made a list for you with the stories I loved to read from the writers I like.
To be honest: I have so many stories in my read-to-later-list, and sometimes I have the feeling I have no time to read those stories. This challenge forced me to read more stories. That means, one day not writing any story, but reading stories (I am a very slow reader).
But reading those stories, I realized that I have not followed some writers I added to their stories to the reading later list. It is such a shame. And I am so sorry. This challenge made me doing all this. But I just needed a day of reading, but instead, I read articles. And now I am liking them and later this week highlighting those stories.
My Writers List — Stories I Read
Nomanono Isaacs
First of all, I discovered Nomanono Isaacs because she started following me. I always look into someone’s profile before following back. I immediately liked her stories! Somehow, it touched me deeply.
You are a lovely writer. You write like I was there with you. But still, you let know the reader is on a distance from you.
“Loving Self Totally And Absolutely”, touched me a lot. You learned me that you have to love yourself the whole self, before you can love someone else too. If you don’t love your self, can you love someone else?
I always thought that human beings should give and care about others, and they have to put themself away, just for others. To serve other people. I always have been taught to think not about yourself, but only about other people.
Thank you very much for this reminder.
“Feeling Appreciation — Not Thinking Appreciation” is one story of it’s kind. Nomanono Isaacs, you also reminded me again, to feel the appreciation instead of only thinking about the appreciation. You said to look in the mirror yourself and say it out loud. I always thought looking into the mirror belongs to narcissists. And that is why I never had done this.
This perspective you gave me, let me rethink about looking into the mirror and say to yourself how thankful you are for all the things in life.
Mike Arnold
When I read your stories, Mike Arnold, I resonating myself with the story, or you let me rethink what definitions are. What I love about your writing is you keep it with yourself to send the message.
“Doubting Yourself: Even If You Don’t Realize It” is a story like it could be mine. I am self-doubting a lot too. From a young age, I am doubting I can do anything and that others know better than me.
But you taught me int this story that when I stop doing the things I truly love to do when I am self-doubting:
Self-doubt is stopping me from living my life. From creating. From being me. The chances are it’s stopping you from living yours. — Mike Arnold
In the story “11 Ways to Cope When Anxiety Threatens Your Calm” I felt terrible. And it is not that I was irritated by the story, but that some of these ways were the ways that I haven’t tried, or I thought I did.
Mike Arnold, you hit me hard with this story. You let me feel calm by writing this story. Thank you for that. You have shown me that you can beat anxiety, and it doesn't matter how often you have it and how heavy it is.
Vee Goldman
I haven’t heard of you until you commented on my story. I looked into your profile and you hit me with the story “The Toxic First Boyfriend. A Mother’s Thoughts.”.
I am a parent and I will have to do something with the phenomenon of boyfriends in the near future (I don’t hope too soon, the oldest is almost 13 years old).
I felt how my mom should've felt when I got my first boyfriend. Even if she had been through that with four girls before.
I like your writing style a lot. It was humorous as serious at the same time.
Why I love your writing style, makes sense in this piece too. We don’t often stand still why we are tired, but you tell that quite funny:
“Got to be here at ten, there at twelve and oh I’m shopping at four”. Rushing through life without taking in the scenery. It must catch up with them at some point and in some cases, probably quite badly. — Vee Goldman
Pete Ross
Yes! You may eat salt and it is not science-based that it is really bad for you. Thanks to you Pete Ross for the inside information. Authorities and media tells you that — because of the numbers proven by science or other proofs — salt is very bad for you and you shouldn't eat salt.
Pete, you were given me such great inside of what salt really does with my body. It doesn’t really matter if you eat salt, and how much salt you eat.
Bam! Another life lesson you learned me. From start to end I didn’t want to stop my eyes from the screen. You wrote this essay like I was there with you, but also that I wasn't there.
Like I wanted to crawl into the screen and just see what that life of yours looks like, to get to know what I can learn from that lesson you just learned. it feels like it is my life too: not living my dream job as being one of the greatest violinists in the world.
Pete Ross, thank you for this amazing experience you shared with me.
It is a little bit difficult for me to go out of my comfort zone, but Dr Mehmet Yildiz always does this to me with these challenges. I love that very much about you.
