Picture The Past, Capture In Words
It is said that a picture speaks a 1000 words. These writers accepted the weekly "Impromptu Prompt" challenge to write the first 100+ words of a moment they captured in their past.
They say you can’t go back in time, but for me this image represents a trip 24 years into the past. That was the last time I lived in the beautiful city by the bay, San Francisco. This week, I was lucky enough to revisit for a day and show my husband around this city I love. This is the place I first stepped out on my own after leaving the nest with a bright future ahead of me. Now I am the one with an empty nest and another new future ahead of me navigating the world of semi-retirement. I stand here looking at this “Golden Gateway” and I can’t think of a more appropriate place to begin a new adventure as I prepare to travel to the opposite end of the earth for the first time.
Saying goodbye is the hardest thing I’ve ever done recently. My parents and a few close friends hid their sad emotions with a fake smile and a little bit of excitement when we were at the airport. I was not fully prepared for this adventure. I thought that I really wanted to move out, explore new things and come out of my comfort zone. But I was wrong. What I missed is the uncertainty of living somewhere without the people dear to my heart. I was not ready to say goodbye but I had to. All these years I worked for this. I will come to people later but will things be the same? Will I get to be with them in their moments of joy? Will I ever make them happy again without physically being with them? I left all those questions behind and chose to focus on pursuing my dreams. I hope those hard goodbyes are totally worthy of my success.
Photos bring back memories. For me, this photo of my Dad watching the classic sitcom “Dynasty” is a portal back into my childhood growing up in Saudi Arabia. The TV series aired in the Kingdom on Aramco’s Channel 3 during dinner time. My mom would warm up fresh kuboos bread served with home-made hummus made with chickpeas and garnished with a dollop of olive oil, the taste of which is also lost with time. My brothers and I would join them in the living room, and together we would watch the drama unfold between the Carrington’s and the Colby’s. Blake, Krystle, Steven, Jeff, Sam, Fallon, Alexis, and Dex Dexter — all unforgettable characters from my past. The moment seen in the picture above was during my parent’s 2017 visit to my American home as we tried to recreate some of those fond memories and relive the past.
If you would like to participate in the next Impromptu Prompt writing challenge, join our chat room. A prompt will be announced every Saturdays and due by eod Sundays. The submissions may be fiction or non-fiction essays of 100-200 words in length, open to all.
These prompts are designed to be a welcome distraction for you to take a break, to help you get out of a rut, or simply for the fun of creative writing. If the prompt triggers a thought or a feeling, just start writing.