Vani







Vani Ravichandran Yo man. That iTunes girl… She fine. When she dances on those commercials, something in my heart //leaps// and I just can’t help but dance along with her! She’s taught me to be spontaneous with my music, and not worry about how much I spend on music because you can’t put a real price on something so valuable, so powerful, so relaxing… She’s taught me nothing in this world really matters, and if I want to go out and dance my butt off in the streets, I should do so with no shame. That I should be a free spirit and not worry about matching my clothes or getting dirty when I lie in the streets. …Who am I kidding? This is the closest I’ll ever get to a girl these days. My girlfriend of three years, Tasha dumped me last weekend after my cynical mother insulted her profusely and I don’t think I’ll ever find someone as great. I’ve resorted to blasting my iPod in the house and in the car… Primarily this playlist Tasha made me for my birthday. It has every song that has meant anything to us in the years we’ve known each other. For some reason, even though I’m trying //desperately// to forget about her, I can’t bring myself to stop listening to that playlist. A few days ago, my mother came home from work only to find me sulking in my own depression, listening to “Lucky” by Jason Mraz and singing along while I cried like a little child. She asked me if I had called Tasha and tried to make amends but I told her I wasn’t ready. I wanted to suffocate Tasha with a pillow. She, out of all people in this world should know that my mother is just crazy and really means no hard. “Manjir, you need to leave this house and DO something. If you’re in a revenge-seeking mood, the best thing to do is have fun and be caught doing so. If you don’t put yourself out into the world again, you’re letting that dumb bitch win.” “Mom! You can’t call her that!” “And why not? She hurt you, didn’t she?” “Only because you hurt //her//! She dumped me because you told her she was the reason I got a B in Genetics this semester.” “I have told you time and time again that having a girlfriend is bad and it’s only going to fail your academic life! She has different morals, she’s not like us! Now look at you. All you do is cry in your room listening to those stupid love songs. And you just watch that iTunes commercial over and over again. What are you doing with your life?” “You are so god-damned heartless, mother! Don’t you understand? No one in this world gives a whoo-haa about petty… petty CRAP anymore! I love Tasha and she loves me. That’s why she left. Because she didn’t want to cause me any more pain.” “My fingers itch. I’M GOING TO HIT YOU. Never take that tone with me again!” After that day, my mother threw me out of the house saying that I needed to get my life back together before I could ever come home again. She left me with nothing but my iPod and an extra calculator. So, every night, here I lay. With my iPod and my new girlfriend-the girl from iTunes. A figment of my imagination. #foreveralone.

Dear Vani, I read "Paradise," and thought it was very good. I REALLY like the language you used, and how you were able to make it vary. I enjoyed the stucture of your piece in addition to your use of language.. By looking at your Wiki and reading your story, I can tell you are a very creative and funny person. Keep up the good work! I wish I had some critical feedback to give you, but I don't! You do a very nice job with making the reader feel as if they are in the story. I give your sensory images an A+! I also read the story you made for your iPod man picture. I would never think of taking your story the route you took it! Your creativity is inspirational; as cheesy as that may sound. You have a great sense of humor and you do a great job of incorporating your humor in your pieces! I wish I could grasp the reader's attention as well as you can! Sincerely, Olivia

Dear Vani, As much as you hate concrete poetry, you're pretty good at it! Especially at choosing topics that are entirely too relatable. I too have been known to vainly curse out my laptop, and reading 'You're a piece of crap' I found myself nodding and thinking "yep, yep, good 'ole Lungman has failed me exactly like this". It's also pretty short, which is a pretty nice reprieve from lengthy epics I'm forced to read. I'm exaggerating of course but after a while poetry grates on my nerves, the uncultured swain I am. However, as easy as it is to fuss with the meter and force it too work occasionally, you seem to swing into it without taking it into too much consideration which makes it slightly more awkward to read - you've gotta consider us poor readers. I have to agree with Olivia on the iPod man, with your sense of humor. Your voice is incredibly prevalent throughout the piece, and it's pretty entertaining. Sincerely, Stella