Another unused Public Speaking Tournament Speech.
N.B: It's somewhat, well pretty much, entirely fictional (I guess, I think, I know). To be honest, I'm not entirely sure which parts are true or not. Therefore- please don't ask.
SPRING CLEANING.
Spring cleaning is adding and deleting with extra
deleting. You remove rubbish, you add a bookcase. You remove one set of
bed-sheets, you add another. But Spring doesn't exist in Botswana, so it is
early December when I am cleaning my room. What do I find under my bed?
-old chip packets of various and once tasty flavours
-a dirty old plate with shriveled up chicken bones
-a few books I should have read
-a few books I should not have read
- an uneaten chocolate bar, melted of course. It's
hot.
-a 2nd Place Public Speaking medal from last year's
tournament.
-a barbie doll, I have no idea what that's doing
here.
-a couple of teeth, with splotches of dried blood
and gum, that I had to get removed in order to get my braces.
- a few more books I should read
- a few more books that I should not read
and finally...
-two unsent love letters to someone we don't need to
talk about
So, as I begin to toss whatever I don't need into a
big, black, industrial-class bin bag I think about how we're constantly adding
and deleting things in our lives. We
delete old clothes and we add the freshest kicks to our wardrobe. We delete ex-girlfriends (and/or boyfriends) and we add more books that we haven't read yet... But in this process of adding
and deleting... do we remain the same person? Am I who I was yesterday? Does the
mere act of Spring Cleaning change who I am forever?
As I am cleaning my room I also check my Facebook- his father has messaged me through my his [my friend's] account... Of course I
freeze. He had told me that if I don't receive a message a few hours after
his operation... I should assume that he is dead.
One whole day had passed
since he had last said goodbye. One whole day where I occasionally bomb his
inbox with messages like 'Oi. Wake up!' or 'Dude, what the hell are you still
doing?' One whole day in which my mother tells me that my Aunt in Canada is
getting one of her breasts removed. One whole day in which I don't tell my
mother that my friend was getting his head opened up for the exact same reason.
One whole day in which when I woke up and did not see a message from him, the
first thing that popped up in my head is that "mornings...are
carcinogenic."
So one whole day, where my friend is both dead and
alive in my mind.
His father tells me that's he's fine. That's he's
alive. That's he's lost all of his memory as a result of the operation.
Oh.
So... Spring Cleaning...
When we delete things,
memories, people, parties, girls, boys, adventures, school grades , I love
you's, I hate you's, movies, songs,
books and even friends...
And when in place of
these we add things, memories, people, parties, girls, boys, adventures, school
grades, I love you's, I hate you's,
movies, songs, books, and even friends ...
Do we still remain the same people we were yesterday?
I ask myself this as I tell him my name.
