Halloween Story Contest: A Nightmare On Biltmore Drive

It was a calm quiet night on October 31st, 2015. I was lying in bed, wary of the shuttering windows and ominous howling outside. "It's all in your head man," I thought to myself. "You're just hearing things."

It was hard to get my mind off of the unknown that lied outside my bedroom window. "I need to pass the time somehow," I thought to myself. Struggling to fall asleep I opened up my laptop and went to the one website I always rely on to put me to sleep: studentparkingonly.com. 

Alas, within minutes, the lackluster writing and haughty themes that encompassed every story worked on my eyelids, causing them to shut. I fell asleep within minutes.

And then a ghost came and spooked me.

By: Asim Lal

Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Lasts & Firsts

The following takes place the day after Chapter 1:

            Jake lamented the underwhelming sensation he felt as he parked his red Jetta in the employee parking lot for the first time.  It was his last first day of high school.  He strutted down the corridor doling out sporadic head nods and hellos, as well as a couple of full-fledged low-fives.

            He took his usual seat on the bench, between Dylan and Erica, one arm around each.  He couldn’t help but smile.  He saw them staring, whispering, and he loved it.  That morning he had arrived early with Dylan and pulled up the blog on every computer screen in the library.  Day 2 and they were rapidly approaching 1,000 hits.  They’d hardly been back an hour and everyone was talking about their creation.

            A small pack of sophomores approached.

            “I read your post,” one daring underclassman blurted out.

            “It was really good,” another chimed in and blushed.

            Jake winked and said, “Thanks,” as the girls giggled and scurried away.

            “You guys have fans,” Erica joked.

            Dylan retorted, “You have to start somewhere.”

They all laughed as the crowds started to disperse, with eager students ambling away to their first classes of the term.  Finally, one by one, they each got up, bag over shoulder, en route to Spanish or, Woodshop, or European History.  Jake was the last to get up, as he sat and took in the scene.

For most, it was just another day of school, but for him it was something more.  He knew he would remember this one for quite some time.  But, this was no time to reminisce, far from it.  It was time to get to work.  Time to make a change for the better.  Jake still wasn’t quite sure what he'd done, but he knew it was the start of something big.  Perhaps he’d even write about it one day.

75,000 & Counting

When I started writing this blog, I was going into my senior year of high school.  Now, as my senior year at Emory imminently approaches, I find it hard to believe that it’s been four years.  A lot’s changed since then, but just as much hasn’t.  I still have no idea what I want to do with my life, but nevertheless, my time as a student is rapidly coming to an end.

75,000 hits sounds like a lot, but I honestly couldn’t tell you how many individuals have made their way onto Student Parking Only.  Some of my readers have been around since day one, many I’ve picked up along the way, and a handful have probably only visited my page once or twice.  I suppose, in the end, it’s all the same to me.  As long as someone is still willing to read my rants, I’ll keep writing them.

One question, however, is pressing: what happens in May?  Rest assured, I don’t plan to stop writing anytime soon, but the concept of Student Parking Only makes a lot less sense when I’m no longer a student.  So, barring any academic complications, I most likely will not still be writing this blog one year from now.  Perhaps I’ll find someone to replace me, or perhaps I’ll simply retire the website.

The notion of graduating from college is stressful enough in its own right, but I cannot even imagine what my life will be like without this blog.  Since 2011, this has been the one constant in my life.  I’ve written good posts; I’ve written awful posts.  I’ve written with excitement and joy; I’ve written with fury and depression.  I’ve written about sports, romance, education, politics and everything in between.  This blog has captured my peaks and troughs, my failures and my successes.

So, I have one year left to close out this journey, and admittedly, it’s been a while since I’ve tried anything new.  At this point, I want to hear from you, the readers.  I want to hear honest opinions about what I do well, what I do poorly, and even what you’d like to see in the next 12 months.  If this blog has ever touched you, or angered you, or changed your perspective even once, I’d love to hear about it.

For the past four years, I’ve been writing this blog for me.  Now, let me write for you.  If you have an idea, an issue, a question, a qualm, please send it my way.  I know I’ve asked before, but if you’d like to write a guest post, now is the time.  Without readers, Student Parking Only wouldn’t mean anything.  My appreciation for all of you cannot be overstated.  Thanks for a wonderful four years, and here’s to one more.

A Walk In Their Shoes

            Student Parking Only has served me well as an outlet for my personal opinions.  There I’ve shared small anecdotes and bouts of wisdom that I think are relevant in our everyday lives.  Yet, lately I’ve felt a void that I have been unable to fill with the occasional blog post.

What I’ve come to realize is that there is an inherent flaw in trying to represent a community with just one voice.  I believe that in my readership there is a wealth of opinions and insights that goes largely unrepresented in my blog that has become so personal.  As my good friend, Michael, likes to say, “Everything is relative.”  We need to see issues from more than one side to claim any sort of knowledge on a subject.

A glaring problem I see with society today is that we do not make judgments with regard to the people at the heart of the issue.  We see headlines flashing up and down Facebook, tiny vignettes flowing through our brain with no filter.  Too often, it seems, the massive amount of information that we retain is dictated by our search history and friends list as opposed to a natural yearning for enrichment.

            So, I present to you, A Walk In Their Shoes.  With this addition to Student Parking Only, I hope to open a new window into the lives of the people that I have tried to serve on my own for the past three years.  This is a space where individuals will share their own perspectives—a place where we can see the world, not from the ever present eye of the media, but rather, from the eyes of the people living in it.

            I hope to attract not only a diverse audience, but more importantly, a diverse cast of authors to offer meaningful content from individual perspectives.  I am calling for people with passions that go unrecognized.   People with missions that they hope to achieve.  People with visions for the future that they believe in wholeheartedly.

            Together, we can create a forum for uncovering perspective.  We can create a venue for hosting the brilliant ventures and initiatives we value so deeply.  This is an opportunity for us to tell the stories that would otherwise go untold.

            So, if you have a story, a passion, an alternative lifestyle, anything that you think might be of interest to the world if only presented from a different perspective, please send me a piece.  I want your voices to be heard.  I want your ideas to be understood in a new light.  I want the world to take a walk in your shoes.

Feel free to send me an email at studentparkingonly@gmail.com

Anonymous

            Critique is imperative in the writing process.  That said, there is a right way to do it and there is a wrong way.  While I’d tend to agree that a writing workshop in English class isn’t always the most effective method of feedback (Praise, Polish, and Question is a little cutesy for my taste), there is still something about the notion of respectful comments that I find attractive.

            When I submit an article to the school newspaper, even if I’ve done a terrible job, the editors still take the time to meet with me personally and discuss any necessary revisions.  Don’t get me wrong; their comments are often harsh and pointed, yet, they have the decency to tell me what I’m doing wrong and try their best to help me fix it.

            Writing for the blog is quite different.  By posting, I am opening up my thoughts and opinions to the scrutiny of the public.  I love that pressure, in fact, I yearn for it, but what really bother me are anonymous comments.  Anonymous: without a name, without pride, without dignity.  Anonymous comments are safe.  They don’t sacrifice your self-image.  Anonymity allows anyone to take on any opinion they choose without having to worry about the repercussions.

            Here is my plea to all of our readers.  I am extremely grateful for your continued allegiance to Student Parking Only, especially since the consensus seems to be that my posts have been pretty lousy as of late.  If anyone has suggestions, queries, or ideas of any sort, I’d love to hear them.  Send in a piece and I’d be glad to post it.  In the end, no one’s going to remember that anonymous comment you wrote.  On the other hand, if you’re brave enough to put your name out there with your ideas and write a decent post, they might just remember you.