Everyday Canvas

Hope Chest, Looking at the Past, Making Conversation

Prompt: Write a Blog entry about a Hope Chest.

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My grandmother had started a hope chest for me as soon as I was born. That thing (a trunk actually) gained many sets of different things, but mostly linens all finely embroidered. In time, they all got stains for just being in that hope chest, which nobody could get out. Plus, most of their cloth being linen and cotton, they needed constant stain removal and ironing.

Although I still appreciate the love and effort, when I had my own place, I gave the whole thing to my cousin and bought plastics and easily washable stuff. I don't think my cousin used them all that much, either. I think hope chests and such similar things belonged to a different era when women were meant to stay at home and slave over their laundry and fancy housekeeping.

Prompt: "I explore the world by looking to the past." Toma Clark Haines Write your views about this quote

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The past, I am not too goo-goo-eyed about. If the past were that perfect, we wouldn’t have had wars, fights, hostilities. and conflicts. And since we are still at odds with one another, we haven’t learned a thing. That is not exploration by looking to the past, is it? Therefore, why revel in nostalgia?


On the other hand, maybe nostalgia motivates the rehearsal of past experiences that can remind us of our authenticity. On a personal note, reaching back helps us rediscover the people who became part of who we have become and what our world today is. Maybe a few people have discovered a world through their rose-colored lenses through their families and hometowns; yet, when this nostalgia is applied to the world, I can’t help but be pessimistic.

Prompt: Some people, we love to talk with; yet with others, we lose attention or focus or, worse yet, we are annoyed. What do you think makes a conversation poignant and successful?

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To have a good conversation with anyone, first people have to have something in common or, if a person doesn’t know the others well, he or she has to find a common subject or just say what his or her thoughts are on the present subject.

I think being one’s genuine self always is the best policy. I don’t think compliments, if not genuine, are necessary, although most people who think they are experts on the subject advise to give the other person a compliment and tie it to a question. Although I don't like insincere compliments, starting unnecessary arguments isn't a proper way of acting, either. I believe being real but not rude is better.

Making conversation can be difficult for most people, especially if they are on the shy side, but practice makes perfect and good timing is essential. If someone is arguing on the phone, trying to have a conversation with him can be useless, for example.

Another point is listening well and understanding what the other person is trying to say. If one doesn’t understand the other person’s meaning, asking questions or paraphrasing what he’s saying could help the focus of both people. Eye contact and positive body language also help a good conversation going.