Author | Lydia Rice, Charlie Prickles, and April Breedlove |
Lydia
I was so excited when Abigail suggested the theme of Fallout. I immediately thought of how perfectly this theme follows up with New Beginnings because, as the sad reality of it is, after a lot of New Beginnings comes Fallout.
Now, don’t over interpret this. Most of our authors have simply taken fallout to mean reacting after a bad situation. The aftermath of something difficult, whether it’s forgetting your exercise routine (Kelsey) or having a really bad day (Vivian), it can even be a broader commentary on the fallen state of man, like I touched on in my See You at the Pole article. Like all themes, it’s up to interpretation and different people deal with fallout differently.
As an interesting aside, for layout design we interpreted fallout very loosely, as in, we just slapped fall colors onto the main page. First orange, then red, and then brown in an imitation of leaves in the fall.
Just like New Beginnings, Fallout also means a lot of change is coming your way. Everyone experiences some type of fallout, whether in relationships or work or whatever. And, like anything else in life, you might feel hopeless with no control over the situation, but my advice is to remember that you always have a choice.
Just last year, my family and I left our church, a church I had always attended. It wasn’t just sad, it was confusing and chaotic and there were a lot of times I felt lost.
I’ve also had quite a few classes that felt like a war zone, where even getting myself to study was its own battle.
My point is that fallout generally challenges you emotionally and physically. You feel like you have no control over your situation.
But the most important thing to remember is that you do have a choice. Feeling stressed? Hang out with your friends, bake cookies, or ask someone to pray with you. It’s your life. Fix what you can fix and react to what you can’t. You just gotta accept that you can’t control what anyone else does, only what you do.
So, for me personally, I try my best to take Fallout as a challenge. In fact, my guide to bad situations is mope, listen to sad music, and start planning what the next step is.
I hope you enjoy reading all our authors’ interpretations of Fallout. Honestly, the team was so creative this month! I was constantly delighted by their interesting ideas.
Charlie Prickles
You may have been extremely confused by our new theme, Fallout. You may be thinking, “Is the Guild Gazette talking about the impact of nuclear warfare?” You may be wondering, “Are they all just mega fans of Fall Out Boy?” (Please don’t start that whole argument up again...) You may simply be saying, “Seriously, just explain already.”
Or you probably already have an idea because my opinion gets stuck in the middle and you’ve already heard Lydia yammer on. This is what it’s like being the mascot. No benefits whatsoever. Not even a dental plan?! (Although I was finally revealed and got my picture on the cover, so I'll take it!)
That’s what fallout is. Fallout is that moment when you have a lot of problems and no way to deal with them and then those problems start attacking in ravenous hordes and you have to deal with them.
But that’s not my problem because I’m the mascot. I don’t have a bunch of personal drama. The closest thing to fallout I’ve experienced is quite literally when my hairs fall out.
So, I provide you with the brilliance that is “Charlie Prickles’ Fallout Playlist” with one song by Fall Out Boy because I had to. I had to keep it to 10 songs but I tried to throw in some variety. Old, new, borrowed, blue. (Not sure how applicable wedding slogans are, but there you go.)
Don’t Dream It’s Over by Crowded House
The Phoenix by Fall Out Boy
Head Above Water by Avril Lavigne
All Star by Smash Mouth
I'm Still Standing by Elton John
Champion by Barns Courtney
Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promises by The Avett Brothers
Come Thou Fount
Don’t Stop Believing by Journey
Fight Song by Kelly Clarkson
April
F
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O U T
[fawl-out] noun
an unexpected or incidental effect, outcome, or product:
Fallout. Such a scary word. Maybe one that we all tend to fear due to the horror stories that we’ve heard, i.e. *falling out* with your best friend or going through some sort of hardship on your life.
The truth is, fallout happens, and you can choose to either deal with it gracefully or clumsily.
Gracefully dealing with any type of fallout in your life means looking at your situation, straightening out your back, and giving it a good kick in the shin before deciding that you won’t let your circumstances dictate the way you live.
Clumsily handling fallout means letting it control you. It means wallowing for too long when you could be making change within your life. It means giving up.
Whenever fallout decides to open up the front door of your life and make a grand entrance, choose grace.
I hope that you enjoy reading the latest issue of the Guild Gazette. We are very excited to showcase all of the creativity from these wonderful articles written by wonderful people.