Fort Hays State University

As an artist, Cassidy has always held the belief that “Almost anything can be art if you look at it the right way.” Her main passion has always been ceramics but she enjoys all kinds of art because she can make anything into anything. She loves how there are no bounds for creativity in art, just endless possibilities. She says she often tries to push the boundaries in her art by creating larger and more intricate or with purpose. Her art work includes mostly functional pieces but she decorates them so they can be either functional or decorative or both. Her inspiration comes mostly from nature but she says she’d like to try to venture into abstract art in the near future as well.https://scholars.fhsu.edu/sacad_art/1033/thumbnail.jp

Goans, Cassidy D

Monkey 2

Daily Dose Digital Art by Hannah Weaver Graphic Design, Undergraduat

Weaver, Hannah

Lines from the Middle of Nowhere 
Volume 2021 Issue 1 Article 18 
February 2025 
Daily Dose 
Hannah Weaver 
Fort Hays State University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines 
Recommended Citation 
Weaver, Hannah (2025) "Daily Dose," Lines from the Middle of Nowhere: Vol. 2021: Iss. 1, Article 18. 
Available at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines/vol2021/iss1/18 
This Artwork is brought to you for free and open access by the Peer-Reviewed Journals at FHSU Scholars 
Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Lines from the Middle of Nowhere by an authorized editor of FHSU 
Scholars Repository. For more information, please contact ScholarsRepository@fhsu.edu. 
Daily Dose
Digital Art
by Hannah Weaver
Graphic Design, Undergraduate
29 1
Weaver: Daily Dose
Published by FHSU Scholars Repository,


English

Daily Dose

On Loving Someone with Different Life Plans by Brenna Erdman Psychology, Undergraduat

Erdman, Brenna

Lines from the Middle of Nowhere 
Volume 2021 Issue 1 Article 23 
February 2025 
On Loving Someone with Different Life Plans 
Brenna Erdman 
Fort Hays State University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines 
Recommended Citation 
Erdman, Brenna (2025) "On Loving Someone with Different Life Plans," Lines from the Middle of Nowhere: 
Vol. 2021: Iss. 1, Article 23. 
Available at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines/vol2021/iss1/23 
This Poetry is brought to you for free and open access by the Peer-Reviewed Journals at FHSU Scholars 
Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Lines from the Middle of Nowhere by an authorized editor of FHSU 
Scholars Repository. For more information, please contact ScholarsRepository@fhsu.edu. 
On Loving Someone with Different Life Plans
by Brenna Erdman
Psychology, Undergraduate
I know you can’t help your wants
The same way I can’t dim my dreams
But it seems like I’m the giver
And you just get the life you see
I’m silly for thinking your commitment
Would come before your fun
Because in two short years I’ll be left waiting
While you’re let loose to run
37 1
Erdman: On Loving Someone with Different Life Plans
Published by FHSU Scholars Repository,


On Loving Someone with Different Life Plans

Editorial Staff, Lines

Lines from the Middle of Nowhere 
Volume 2021 Issue 1 Article 32 
February 2025 
Lines from the Middle of Nowhere - Volume 2021 Back Matter 
Lines Editorial Staff 
Fort Hays State University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines 
Recommended Citation 
Editorial Staff, Lines (2025) "Lines from the Middle of Nowhere - Volume 2021 Back Matter," Lines from 
the Middle of Nowhere: Vol. 2021: Iss. 1, Article 32. 
Available at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines/vol2021/iss1/32 
This Creative Non-fiction is brought to you for free and open access by the Peer-Reviewed Journals at FHSU 
Scholars Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Lines from the Middle of Nowhere by an authorized 
editor of FHSU Scholars Repository. For more information, please contact ScholarsRepository@fhsu.edu. 
Board Members
Mackenzie McGregor, Editor
Emily Linder, Co-Editor
Michael Stueve, Co-Editor
Keri Asche
Joseph Gunderson
Laurel Haley
Sponsors
Sigma Tau Delta
Dr. Lexey Bartlett, Advisor
Front Cover
Inktober Day 1, Fish
Illustration, Ink
by Bailey Werner
Graphic Design, Undergraduate
Back Cover
Country Quiet
Illustration, Line and Ink
By Angela Garrison
Criminal Justice, Graduate Student
46 1
Editorial Staff: Lines from the Middle of Nowhere - Volume 2021 Back Matter
Published by FHSU Scholars Repository,
2
Lines from the Middle of Nowhere, Vol. 2021, Iss. 1 [], Art. 32
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Lines from the Middle of Nowhere - Volume 2021 Back Matter

All the Maybes Tristan Wilson Secondary English Education, Senio

Wilson, Tristan

Lines from the Middle of Nowhere 
Volume 2019 Issue 1 Article 3 
February 2025 
All the Maybes 
Tristan Wilson 
Fort Hays State University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines 
Recommended Citation 
Wilson, Tristan (2025) "All the Maybes," Lines from the Middle of Nowhere: Vol. 2019: Iss. 1, Article 3. 
Available at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines/vol2019/iss1/3 
This Creative Non-fiction is brought to you for free and open access by the Peer-Reviewed Journals at FHSU 
Scholars Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Lines from the Middle of Nowhere by an authorized 
editor of FHSU Scholars Repository. For more information, please contact ScholarsRepository@fhsu.edu. 
4
All the Maybes
Tristan Wilson
Secondary English Education, Senior
There was always something that forced me to keep getting upset every time 
people didn’t act the way I thought they ought to. My whole childhood, I grew 
up playing Barbie dolls. I made their lives exactly what I wanted them to be. I 
made them wear exactly what I wanted them to wear. I made them say exactly 
what I wanted them to say. I gave them back-stories and personalities and 
motives. 
The other day, it fi nally hit me. 
In the Barbie World, I was in control. 
Here—outside of that Barbie World—the control is far from mine. Sometimes 
I don’t even have control of my own thoughts, let alone the actions of others. 
I watch movies about people who make stupid mistakes, and I get frustrated. 
Why? Why did they have to do that stupid thing? Why could they not just 
do the smart thing that I would have done? God, that sounds terrible. I sound 
like a self-centered, conceited, brat. 
I don’t like not being in control. If anything goes wrong in my life or things 
don’t work out, I want to know that I had control of the situation; that I did 
everything I could. 
It doesn’t always work that way. 
I’m not the boss of life. I don’t have the fi nal say over all things in the world.
The whole world is a danger zone.
There are too many things that hurt. 
~~~
How do I look at myself, knowing I had no control over such a destructive 
decision? Or, did I have control? Was there something that I could have 
done to change the outcome? I read books and have conversations about this 
kind of thing all the time. Was there an instance where I could have done 
something but didn’t? Why wasn’t I a better friend? 
She asked me to be a friend, but I didn’t try hard enough. I should have kept 
inviting her places and encouraging her to come hang out or do things or 
even just check in on her every once in a while. 
I didn’t. 
I gave minimal eff ort to fulfi ll her request of being a friend in this town, 
and now that reality is staring me straight in the face. I don’t pretend to be 
the only thing wrong in her life. I know I’m not that special. But maybe, just 
maybe, if I had been there for her, she would have made a diff erent decision. 
Maybe she would have made the decision that I would have made for her. 
But then again, maybe she wouldn’t have. Maybe there were too many other 
things weighing down on her that I never would have known about. 
Clearly, the people who were active in her life didn’t know or couldn’t read the 
signs. You know, maybe that is another reason why I feel so guilty. If I had 
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Wilson: All the Maybes
Published by FHSU Scholars Repository, 2019
5
put in more eff ort to be her friend, I might have seen the signs. I have spent 
so many classes talking about the warning signs and the things that lead a 
person to that point. Maybe I could have seen it coming—stopped it. 
I didn’t. 
I wasn’t. 
My chance is gone. I missed the train. I failed. We all failed. We all failed her. 
She is gone, and it’s all our faults collectively. I don’t care how many times 
you remind me that it wasn’t my fault and that there was too much pain 
inside of her that I couldn’t have helped. Maybe if all of us had done one little 
thing that we had the power to do, she wouldn’t have done it. 
~~~
I’ve never understood why liking pink is so deeply associated with little 
girls. I like the color pink. I always have. Now that I’m older, I’ve started to 
realize that I like pink because it is a mix of red and white. Sometimes there 
is more red, and sometimes there is more white. That is how you get so many 
diff erent shades. Red is such a powerful and angry color; white is pure and 
clean but also very loud and commands attention. I like the way the white 
tames the red and softens its anger. 
~~~
I live a life. 
I am privileged, and I refuse to pretend like I am not. To do so would be an 
insult to everything my parents and grandparents and great grandparents 
did to get me here. I do not come from a long line of wealthy people, and we 
are not wealthy people now. We live a comfortable middle-class life as the 
descendants of people who did not. The Dust Bowl and the Great Depression 
struck them, but they survived and grew a family to comfort. They did this 
because they had love and knew how to love.
Sometimes it feels like a crime to admit that my life is good and that I 
can live in comfort. It always feels like I’m supposed to be ashamed of my 
happiness when I know so many other people who aren’t happy and who are 
discriminated against and whose circumstances are painful. Any time I feel 
those pressures, I remind myself of my family and how hurt they would be if I 
felt those things while knowing all the pain and trouble they suff ered so that I 
wouldn’t have to. 
A lot of people that I meet like to talk about the bad things in their lives and 
how life is unfair. They dwell on their misfortunes. Do not misunderstand 
me: those experiences are very real and will always be a part of their lives. 
I just wish they could learn to let themselves be happy beyond those 
circumstances. 
I am privileged and loved, but my life hasn’t been perfect. Those times that 
made my life less than perfect do not defi ne me. I will not be held into a state 
of sadness and self-destruction because of them. 
When that darkness started to creep over me, I took it in my hands and made 
the decision for myself that I would conquer it. I looked into its emptiness 
and said: “You do not own me. I am strong. I am loved. I deserve happiness.”
I guess, maybe, that is why I don’t understand what she did. Even when I 
felt alone and broken, I still loved myself enough to know that I deserved 
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Lines from the Middle of Nowhere, Vol. 2019, Iss. 1 [2019], Art. 3
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6
better. Once I found strength in my self-appreciation, my eyes were opened 
to the countless people who loved and cared for me and all that they did and 
sacrifi ced for me. 
~~~
Maybe I have it all wrong. Maybe it had nothing to do with any of us at all. 
Maybe it was about the way she loved herself. 
It is hard to understand the kind of darkness that would pull you that far 
under—the darkness that wraps its hands around your throat and eyes and 
drags you beneath the surface of reality. There were so many people that 
loved her. She had to know that. How could she not? Maybe we didn’t love her 
enough? 
No. 
Even as I say that, I know it is wrong. Something in my chest tells me she 
knew we loved her and how greatly she was loved. There was something else. 
Something else was haunting her. Those thoughts were circling her mind like 
a vulture circles prey: it taunts the suff ering animal until the very last second 
of life. Maybe the vulture got too close to her and the feeling in her chest 
each time it made a round, getting closer and closer and closer, got too scary 
and she just wanted it to end. 
When I let my mind start to think about why she did it, it breaks my heart 
at the number of devastating events she had to endure and live with. 
Simultaneously, I can only think of her laugh and the cloud of vanilla that 
went with her everywhere. She always used to smell like vanilla—always. 
It’s weird to use the past tense. She was so young, and you should only use 
past tense with old people and great-great-grand-family-members: not friends 
or peers. It’s so strange to think of the fi nality of it. She made a decision and 
will never have the chance to change it or make any other decisions again. 
~~~
Free will.
The main question a Christian will get from a non-believer or skeptic is: “If 
God is so powerful and loves us all so much, why does He let bad things 
happen?” The only answer is this: “God loves us so much that He wants us to 
choose to love Him and follow Him and do right by Him, so He gives us free 
will.”
You cannot force someone to love you. If you do, then it’s not love: it’s fear. 
His undying love for us means that He is willing to let us choose our own way 
even though He has a perfect plan for us. He allows us to face these decisions 
each day because He wants us to know that we have free will.
In the same way, you can’t force your love on someone who doesn’t want it. 
Maybe she was in such a dark place that she didn’t even want us to love her. 
Maybe there was nothing more that we could have done. 
But God!
Why?!
Why didn’t you let us save her? 
Why did she have to choose that? 
3
Wilson: All the Maybes
Published by FHSU Scholars Repository, 2019
7
What were we supposed to do? 
Was there a decision that each of us made years ago that sent her to that 
point? 
Was it our decisions that did this and not hers? 
Why?
I don’t know how to think of her without smelling vanilla. 
Why? 
I don’t know how to think of her without seeing her sharp, unique, beautiful 
eyes. 
Why? 
I don’t know how to think of her without blaming myself. 
Why? 
~~~
I look around at everything I have been blessed with and wonder: “If she had 
just a few of the blessings I did. . . I had plenty to spare. . . How do I go on 
living in a place of such comfort and security knowing that she didn’t feel 
this?”
What about when I start to heal from this? We will all heal from this at 
diff erent times and in diff erent ways, but what if I heal sooner than others? 
Does that make me a bad person? If I can move on with my life and be happy 
and smile and laugh and live. . . 
~~~
At the funeral, the pastor said: “I know that Jesus was there with her in those 
last moments, inviting her home.” 
The lyrics of “Tremble” by Mosaic MSC come to my mind’s ear. I can’t help 
but think: these are the words that she was hearing as she made her last 
decision. 
Peace. 
The decision that no one could make for her.
Still. 
The decision that no one could have changed. 
Breathe. 
The decision that resided in her. 
Light. 
She knew He was light, and so she went to Him. 
~~~
Maybe there was more each of us could have done, but in the end, the 
decision was hers. 
We will grow. We will heal. We will move on. 
Just like she would want us to. 
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Lines from the Middle of Nowhere, Vol. 2019, Iss. 1 [2019], Art. 3
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8
We aren’t there yet—far from it. Our healing is still a work in progress, just 
like we are.
But while we are here in this place of grief and sadness, we want you to 
know we are sorry, Mandie. I am sorry, Mandie: deeply sorry for everything. 
Nothing can change the past. But please know, Mandie, if God gave us the 
chance to change it, we would. We would change it faster than you pulled the 
trigger. 
5
Wilson: All the Maybes
Published by FHSU Scholars Repository, 2019


All the Maybes

Wonder and Awe Elizabeth Leiker Secondary English Education, Junio

Leiker, Elizabeth

Lines from the Middle of Nowhere 
Volume 2019 Issue 1 Article 16 
February 2025 
Wonder and Awe 
Elizabeth Leiker 
Fort Hays State University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines 
Recommended Citation 
Leiker, Elizabeth (2025) "Wonder and Awe," Lines from the Middle of Nowhere: Vol. 2019: Iss. 1, Article 16. 
Available at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines/vol2019/iss1/16 
This Poetry is brought to you for free and open access by the Peer-Reviewed Journals at FHSU Scholars 
Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Lines from the Middle of Nowhere by an authorized editor of FHSU 
Scholars Repository. For more information, please contact ScholarsRepository@fhsu.edu. 
20
Wonder and Awe
Elizabeth Leiker
Secondary English Education, Junior
I see the sunrise in your fi ngertips
And shooting stars in your eyes
But the most amazing thing about you
Is the galaxy of your mind
A million balls of fi re
Some kept dormant as you speak
But others shine bright in my heart 
And others make me weak
But even though I have not seen
All the wonders of your thoughts
I will still patiently wait until 
I can say, all of your falling stars, I caught
The universe you have made 
May take years to travel through
To fi nd all the beautiful ideas
And wonderful things about you
1
Leiker: Wonder and Awe
Published by FHSU Scholars Repository, 2019


Wonder and Awe

Enough Stacie Rupp English, Graduate Studen

Rupp, Stacie

Lines from the Middle of Nowhere 
Volume 2019 Issue 1 Article 25 
February 2025 
Enough 
Stacie Rupp 
Fort Hays State University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines 
Recommended Citation 
Rupp, Stacie (2025) "Enough," Lines from the Middle of Nowhere: Vol. 2019: Iss. 1, Article 25. 
Available at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines/vol2019/iss1/25 
This Poetry is brought to you for free and open access by the Peer-Reviewed Journals at FHSU Scholars 
Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Lines from the Middle of Nowhere by an authorized editor of FHSU 
Scholars Repository. For more information, please contact ScholarsRepository@fhsu.edu. 
30
Enough
Stacie Rupp
English, Graduate Student
Sometimes
in the early morning quiet
the memories come.
One by one 
like teardrops
unbidden
I remember us. 
Each memory like
salty, sweet tears.
I recall, 
then swiftly swipe them
from my mind.
I try to stop the fl ow,
memories sliding
down my face,
but they fall,
uninvited. 
So I give in.
For a moment
I indulge myself. 
Soulfully wandering
through the painful fl ashes. 
The bitter taste of
memories turned sour
awakens my meandering.
My face feels tight
streaked with dry memories. 
Silly girl, enough.
1
Rupp: Enough
Published by FHSU Scholars Repository, 2019


Enough

Ramos, Alondra

Lines from the Middle of Nowhere 
Volume 2019 Issue 1 Article 29 
February 2025 
My Love Is Enough 
Alondra Ramos 
Fort Hays State University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines 
Recommended Citation 
Ramos, Alondra (2025) "My Love Is Enough," Lines from the Middle of Nowhere: Vol. 2019: Iss. 1, Article 
29. 
Available at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines/vol2019/iss1/29 
This Poetry is brought to you for free and open access by the Peer-Reviewed Journals at FHSU Scholars 
Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Lines from the Middle of Nowhere by an authorized editor of FHSU 
Scholars Repository. For more information, please contact ScholarsRepository@fhsu.edu. 
33
My Love Is Enough
Alondra Ramos
Freshman
My love is a temptress
My love is Aphrodite incarnate 
My love will live on beyond me
I.
late nights those headlights
empty streets, the only light a street lamp, 
can I kiss you
you can call me what you want but I hope it’s yours
II.
lipstick stains on the inside of your thighs
I’ve never had grace and I’ve been doing this my whole life but when I’m with
you
I swear we’re holy
III.
you and I 
we always fi nd each other in the dark
like if we can’t see each other
 what we’re doing isn’t real like the darkness will keep our secrets
someday you and I will shine in the light
IV.
summer nights
the crickets sing, the night hums, the stars the brightest I’ve ever seen
I show you Orion and you laugh when I can’t fi nd either of the Bears
you point them out to me and shine brighter than the sun
we lie in a fi eld discussing what our futures might look like intertwined for 
forever
we sit on the pier kicking our legs out
the ocean roars in our silence
we wonder what comes next 
V.
long lonely road 
pastures and fi elds 
and open road
nothing for forever
you were the old record player I never unpacked when I left for college
you were the air leaving my lungs and seeing forever even though I know it’s an
 elusive dream
1
Ramos: My Love Is Enough
Published by FHSU Scholars Repository, 2019


My Love Is Enough

Lines from the Middle of Nowhere 
Volume 2019 Issue 1 Article 32 
February 2025 
Lines from the Middle of Nowhere - Volume 2019 Back Matter 
Lines Editorial Staff 
Fort Hays State University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines 
Recommended Citation 
Editorial Staff, Lines (2025) "Lines from the Middle of Nowhere - Volume 2019 Back Matter," Lines from 
the Middle of Nowhere: Vol. 2019: Iss. 1, Article 32. 
Available at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines/vol2019/iss1/32 
This Creative Non-fiction is brought to you for free and open access by the Peer-Reviewed Journals at FHSU 
Scholars Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Lines from the Middle of Nowhere by an authorized 
editor of FHSU Scholars Repository. For more information, please contact ScholarsRepository@fhsu.edu. 
39
#MeToo
R.E.M
By Kaitlyn Tibbitts
By Emily Kohls
Sophomore
Art, Senior
Mixed Media
Acrylic
BOARD MEMBERS
SPONSORS
FRONT COVER
BACK COVER
Judy Sansom
Mackenzie McGregor
Cassidy Locke
Emily Linder
Meagan Englert
Makayli Allender
Jordan Darkis
Sigma Tau Delta
Dr. Lexey Bartlett, Advisor
1
Editorial Staff: Lines from the Middle of Nowhere - Volume 2019 Back Matter
Published by FHSU Scholars Repository, 2019
40 2
Lines from the Middle of Nowhere, Vol. 2019, Iss. 1 [2019], Art. 32
https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines/vol2019/iss1/32


Lines from the Middle of Nowhere - Volume 2019 Back Matter

Yesterdays Cassidy Locke Secondary English Education, Sophomor

Locke, Cassidy

Lines from the Middle of Nowhere 
Volume 2018 Issue 1 Article 5 
February 2025 
Yesterdays 
Cassidy Locke 
Fort Hays State University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines 
Recommended Citation 
Locke, Cassidy (2025) "Yesterdays," Lines from the Middle of Nowhere: Vol. 2018: Iss. 1, Article 5. 
Available at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines/vol2018/iss1/5 
This Short Fiction is brought to you for free and open access by the Peer-Reviewed Journals at FHSU Scholars 
Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Lines from the Middle of Nowhere by an authorized editor of FHSU 
Scholars Repository. For more information, please contact ScholarsRepository@fhsu.edu. 
12
Yesterdays
Cassidy Locke
Secondary English Education, Sophomore
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to see all of your yesterdays in motion?
Funny… because I know my yesterdays would look pretty diff erent without you in 
them. It’s ironic because even though my yesterdays make me think of you, you’re 
the only person I want in my tomorrows.
Before we met, I thought nothing of the idea of you.
Now, the idea of you brings all my creativity together like bees in a beehive
My unchosen muse—darling, you keep me making honey
some artists create a pseudonym, but with you, the anonymity resists to exist.
How do I accept the reality of the normality of your magnetic pull?
Why don’t you see it?
Every moment with you continually builds my yesterdays
I guess at this point all I can do is hopelessly wish for our yesterdays to turn into 
our tomorrows.
1
Locke: Yesterdays
Published by FHSU Scholars Repository, 2018
