Last night, I was having some random dream about who knows what, when this random phrase popped up: “It happened one day at Mr. Leno’s Bird Cage.” It occurred to me that this would make a good writing prompt, so I dragged myself out of bed to jot this down on a post-it and went back to sleep. Thought I’d share with it you guys and write a paragraph using the prompt. If you want to use it for your own exercises, go for it!
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It happened one day at Mr. Leno’s Bird Cage. As I sat there with my spoon in my hand, gazing down at my vegetable soup, I realized I had a problem. My anxiety had gotten to the point that I could barely go a few minutes without hyperventilating about some perceived mistake on my end. I can read social cues quite well, but I felt like I was lacking in some area. I really wanted to go see a counselor but with my last retail job paying next to nothing and my inability to find another one, the chances of that happening were slime to none. I ran a hand through my thick curls and immediately chided myself for creating more tangles than necessary. Sighing, I looked around the room, my eyes settling on an older couple quietly eating what looked like tuna sandwiches. The woman’s blond hair sat on her head like helmet, while the man’s hair (or lack there of) was obscured by a faded baseball hat. They seemed normal enough, dressed casually in t-shirts and khakis. I don’t think I could ever imagine myself ending up like that.

