Karla's Chronicles

 It has been a bit. I have been busy putting my focus on my poetry collection. It may seem like I have forgotten about my blog, but I haven't/ I try to have a 4-day schedule that focuses on poetry only. I have decided that I am going to use Fridays to contribute to this blog so that it doesn't get left by the wayside. So, I hope you enjoy that tidbit of information from me. I am going to keep the poems that I write for this blog separate from my book project. Today, I am going to write about faith. "Faith" Faith was a concept with which I was very unfamiliar I spent so much time dancing with the devil I had no idea what would be placed before me When I gave up and quit listening to the devil's  Bitter but sweet-sounding voice He did his best to scoop me up  And pull me into his wrath I must admit he did a pretty good job He toyed with me Because he knew that I didn't know any better But I became worn down and broken From the constant ridicule That seemed to lo...

 hi... i have not stopped by my blog to say hi to everyone in a while. i hope everyone is doing okay. the world is still crazier than we would all like it to be at this point, especially here in the good ole united states. i am doing okay. i have been going back and forth with feeling fine and then bouncing back with my depression. it's very annoying, and i wish it wasn't an issue anymore, but i truly cannot help it or do much about it. i am trying my best to get by the best way i know how. trying to stay busy and focusing on a few writing projects. as long as i can keep myself occupied, i do not see any real issues with trying to get better mentally.  i have been doing a better job at keeping up with my blog this year, as you can probably tell with the sheer number of posts. my main focus right now is my third poetry book, but there are times like today when i work on little bits of everything. i may be doing some more posts this week. i will come up with something topic wise...

 The fact is simple: Life does not always turn out the way you pictured it would. Dreams are good to have, but sometimes, they get blurred by the unexpected. I think everyone knows by now that Simone Biles' exit from the team final was unexpected. All of us who are supremely interested in gymnastics expected golden glory from a team led by the best gymnast in all of the world. It did not turn out that way, but despite having an enormous load on their shoulders, the three women from the USA women's gymnastics team stepped up without their leader, and they earned a silver medal. If that does not show courage and tenacity. I do not know what does. Now let's talk Simone. The best gymnast the world has ever seen without question. This girl was collecting and accumulating difficulty points like they were part of an Easter Egg hunt on Easter morning. Just when you think she couldn't possibly get better, she was coming up with new and harder tricks to amaze those of us who coul...

  "Barren Spirits" You searched for decades To find the missing part Of your life In every nook  And in every cranny You searched until Your eyes could no longer  Look You wanted so badly For something to appear To get rid of this barren spirit That seems to sit dormant There is nothing around me to make  It move The darkness has surrounded me And has refused to relent I have prayed for relief But my prayers have remained unanswered No matter how hard I plead God does not seem to want me to succeed The barren soul feeling just continue to bleed  Within me

 Dear Simone,  I feel like I should begin this letter to you by introducing myself. My name is Karla Culbertson. I am a 36-year-old woman from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I suppose my interest in gymnastics is influenced by my disability. I am wheelchair dependent due to Quadraplegic Cerebral Palsy. As you can probably guess, gymnastics is even more fascinating to me when compared to the average fan because I cannot even walk and to be able to see you defy gravity time and time again is just that much more incredible to me.  My gymnastics fandom was first inspired by the Magnificent Seven in 1996. Once I watched all seven of those women capture the Gold Medal, I was hooked. I remember buying Dominique Moceanu's autobiography and studying the skills index in the back of the book until I was cross-eyed. A couple of months prior to the 1996 team winning gold, I found out that LSU had a gymnastics team. I have been a loyal follower and fan of the LSU ladies for a good 26 years or...

 I am sure this is rather obvious, but I have not been posting on here as much as I had planned. I was in a writing block phase recently, and this blog has not acted as the right tool to resolve it. In the beginning of the year and toward the end of last year, I thought that the blog would be the answer. I was wrong. You see, as a writer, we go through phases where one tool works better than the other. For the next couple of weeks, I am going to be focusing on posting on a website called The Prose. This site gives me an opportunity to have my writing seen and read and it offers a chance for me to put myself out there... At this point, I am not sure when I will be back on the blog. I am hoping to make a regular return in about 2 months. So come read my stuff on www.Theprose.com

 Hello, there, my people, I have taken this week to focus on a writing contest sponsored by www.biopage.com. I will be uploading my essay to the BioPage website tomorrow. I will post about it on here as well. PLEASE GO AND READ IT!!  I have never won anything in my life, and I would absolutely love it if I were to win a writing contest! This might sound kind of weird, but winning something like that would really boost my confident and alleviate much of my doubt. Thank you so much in advance for your continuing support!!