Write with Author NJ Miller

On being normal There is a look and sound that is considered normal by many. Look in the mirror. Do you have it? What color is your face? Is it free of blemishes, is your hair the normal range of straight to curly, are your clothes agreeable within the normal range of style, fit, and cleanliness? Speak a sentence. Are you in the normal range of the English language with no accent? If so, you probably look normal. But what’s inside all of that?   There are many ways to miss the normal mark on the inside. Maybe you are not in the normal range of seeing or hearing. In fact, normal can be measured, quantified, and diagnosed. You might look normal on the outside until you don’t speak normally, don’t respond to others, trip over something obvious, not recognize someone, or you don’t converse about normal activities.  You could look normal on the outside but think very differently. Thinking differently can cause you to miss important learning at school as with different hearing or se...

I raised my rifle in ready for the perfect shot. The deer stood tall with majestic antlers raised high. I’m not sure why I was hesitating. I prepared well for this moment. It was my day to make my father proud. We spent hours shooting at targets that looked like deer heads finding the precise spot for a kill shot. I remember admiring the deer heads my father proudly mounted on the walls in the cabin away from my mothers tender eyes. My father had finally taken me hunting while my brother laughingly shouted a girl would never be able to shoot a deer. Here I was in my moment of glory, ready to take the shot when I heard a boom followed by a thump on the ground. I looked up and the deer was gone. With fearful eyes, I saw huge man walking toward me. Then he stopped near where I had seen the deer. He reached to the ground and picked up the limp dead animal with his gloved hands and tossed into a giant bag at his feet. He threw the bag over his shoulder and walked away. I knew I should be th...