This first short story I've written is a piece that is fictional but contains things that are very real to some people. We live in a broken world where pain and suffering are very real. People struggle with many different things whether that be social anxiety, drugs and alcohol, sexual sins, or abuse. You name it and someone has struggled with it. It breaks my heart to know what people have had to go through. I wrote this story to try to shed light on what people have had to go through in life. I want to show that there can be light on the other side of the darkness. Even if it’s hard to see it is there. Some people are looking up to you and need you even if you are unaware of it. Just because you feel lost or like you don’t matter that is far from the truth.
Read StoryThomas Terry
As the days get shorter
And the air gets cooler
We miss the glowing ball in the sky.
As time goes on the cold pours in
Thomas Terry
We all search for the greatest trends on the internet. We race to be the first to catch that wave. We want to jump on the bandwagon and hope we catch some of the wind of the latest fad or trend. We love trends and popularity. We set our eyes on the goal of being famous or trendy. We want to fit in with the rest of the internet. We do the most ridiculous things just to say we did the latest trend. Have you ever randomly seen people dancing in public to catch that next video trend on TikTok. It's quite the sight right
Thomas Terry
That funny feeling we all get
That foggy brain that won’t remember
A thing you felt or a thing you said
You feel so far away
Keep Reading…
We strive to be our best
We push through the challenges life throws our way
We take the road less travels
We push through the sweat and tears
We put in the hard work and don't give up
We find the end to be rewarding
Because of the work it took to get there
Thomas Terry
Sometimes life can be full of many challenges. It's not always the easiest for us to navigate. It has it's ups and downs and it's storms that want to blow us over. We live through them, sometimes it feels like we are living them everyday. As the wind picks up it tries it's hardest to knock us down to the floor. It's an unforgiving force that could care less about our feelings or what we want. How we face these storms defines who we are. It shapes our character and helps to develop us as humans.
Thomas Terry
We rush around
Hoping to do it all
To accomplish our list
To accomplish our tasks
Thomas Terry
Words can’t express what we feel
Words can’t paint a picture of our grief
Words can’t explain the pain we have
Words can’t relieve when we can’t believe
Words. Pain. Grief. Relief.
Thomas Terry
Apple Crisp in a pan
Ideas older than the age of man
Baking food takes a plan
You would hate to ruin the perfect dish
Keep Reading...
Thomas Terry
The world spins and our lives move forward
We need to find a place where we can be us
We need to find a place where we can grow
Together in community is the only way forward
Keep Reading …
Thomas Terry
We all have them
They come and go
Gently floating like the breeze
Waiting until we know
Whether or not they’ll come true.
Thomas Terry
It’s crazy it’s been a month already. It doesn’t seem possible how quickly time can fly. It seems like just a moment ago I was watching you walk down the isle gasping at how beautiful you were. Looking into your eyes as we danced for the first time as Mr. & Mrs. Terry. It’s crazy how in life you blink and things have changed. Sometimes for the bad but in this case for the best. This has been the craziest but happiest month of my life. I couldn’t dream or even wish for anything better. This is a dream come true.
Keep Reading…
Thomas Terry
The years have past
And the fear has ceased
The memory is lost
As we move on with our lives.
Thomas Terry
Make me into a masterpiece
Shape me into what I could never be
Flatten me out to remove the crease
That keeps me from finding perfection
We’ve waited all year for this moment
The big day has finally arrived
The taste of fall is here
Running across our tastebuds
Thomas Terry
As time moves on
We’ve come to expect
The fact that everything changes
It’s not unusual for us to watch as the tress change from green to red
Thomas Terry
We all have a passion or something we want to work hard for to achieve. We are motivated by something or someone. We have tasks we know that we must complete. Things that are on our todo lists that we must do everyday. Whether it’s starting your own business or working a 9 to 5 just to put food on the table we all must work hard to survive.
Thomas Terry
Sterile surfaces.
Bright burning lights.
Shiny tools scattered about.
The sounds of drills and screams coming from the room next door.
Thomas Terry
Life.
We all want to collect
We all want processions.
We climb the ladder of wealth hoping to find success.
Thomas Terry
We all need one.
A place to stay.
A place to lay at night.
A place to escape the rain.
Thomas Terry
The overwhelming fear of the process about to partake
Hope to God that you will like the final outcome
Not knowing what you’ll see when you finally look in the mirror
Will it match your dreams or make your heart sink deep inside your chest
It happens to all of us at one point or another
It may happen quick or we will have time to recover
Change
A six letter word that terrifies us all
Thomas Terry
The empty chair
The waiting lines
Always living up to the very best
Hoping to achieve
Hoping to deceive
Thomas Terry
Taking time to be away.
The hustle and bustle of everyday life.
Allowing the emotions to be at bay.
Thomas Terry
PERFECT DREAM.
We all have this picture perfect dream of what our lives should look like. We want everything to line up the way we want and nothing to set us back. We want our lives to check all the boxes of success, happiness and popularity. We want to be seen.
Thomas Terry
Foggy days
Hazy life
A metaphor to the destruction of life.
Thomas Terry
Journey.
A word representing what we are all on.
Life.
A journey in itself.
Love.
What we all hope we find on our journey of life.
Thomas Terry
Landscapes new and old.
Life giving breath in every step.
The peace and calm of the mild breeze.
Walking past the things unknown.
Allowing your thoughts to start to flow.
Never ending peaceful dreams.
As you walk along the path leaving behind your past life.
Thomas Terry
We all want a place to call ours. We all want to feel like we are apart of something and fit in. It’s part of our nature. It’s an instinct to survive because without someone around it used to be the chances of survival were not very high. Now we are at less risk of dying from lack of heat or food if we are alone. But we are at just a great of risk of dying from mental health because we are along.
Thomas Terry
Another story for another day
Putting my best foot forward
My best words down on the page
Thomas Terry
Looking out into the unknown.
The great abyss of the water.
The mystery that lies beneath
And the beauty that sits on top.
Thomas Terry
Do you ever wonder where time has gone? Do you look back and think what have I even done with my life? We all ask these questions or at least I think we all do because I know I have at points in my life. We can get so caught up in the 9 to 5 life that we forget to actually live. We do tasks everyday that keep us busy but what does that even do for us? We wonder what have we even accomplished. We look at our accomplishments and think how much greater they could of been and compare ourselves to people who have done more.
Thomas Terry
We live is a world of comparison and likes and comparison in comments. We base our worth on what the world says about us and how popular we look on social media. We have grown our influence to a global reach and stepped out of a handful of close friends. We are getting influence and feedback on our lives from people who don't even know who we are.
Thomas Terry
When things get tough what do you do?
Sit around and complain hoping someone will hear your cries?
Waiting around listening to everyone's lies
Knowing you will never be great.
Thomas Terry
Living in the era of motivation speakers.
We struggle to find the motivation.
We struggle to be inspired.
What is left for us to do to find inspiration.
Thomas Terry
You know that feeling
That rests deep inside you soul.
That feeling you have
When you know you were wrong.
Thomas Terry
Time is constantly ticking. We are always moving forward although it can feel like we are on a slippery slide backwards in life. But no matter how difficult things seem time only has a single direction and that is forward.
We are constantly hurdling through time dodging and weaving in an out of everything that is trying to slow us down. We don't always know how to process the things that are happening and find ourselves questioning whether things in life are good or bad. Should we or should we not do certain things? We wonder and we ponder every little detail of our life. We let these ideas spin freely in our mind taking up precious space in our memories.
Thomas Terry
I feel stuck.
I know what is good for me and what is good for my business to grow and I'm afraid they are different things. I want to say I have control but is there a way for me to say no? It's like a drug deal happening every day. It must happen if I am going to make money and gain followers. But they say dealers don't participate in their drugs. Is this true? Do those behind this new addiction know how bad it is and sell it to us anyway?
I feel trapped.
Thomas Terry
Time is a funny thing
It flies by
But the days we wish for never seem to come.
Thomas Terry
Colors painting in the night sky.
Dogs barking and babies crying.
The chaos and beauty surrounding the night.
We wait for this moment and dread it all at once.
Thomas Terry
We live in a place where freedom is taken for granted
We want everything to happen in our timing
And want our lives to come out feeling enchanted
We celebrate in the night and wait while the fireworks are priming
Boom! Bang!
Explosions of the celebration to remind us of our freedoms!
Thomas Terry
"Rain Rain, Go away"
Chanting in my mind.
Driving home, I can't see the road
through the rain falling from the sky.
Thomas Terry
We wonder why we have troubling feeling.
But when we do we wish we wouldn't.
The endless cycle of ups and downs.
Leaves us wondering if we're ever enough.
Thomas Terry
Simplicity > Money
We all strive to have the most in life.
We want to gather our possessions
And stack up our wealth.
We desire to be safe and comfortable.
We hide from the unknown.
Thomas Terry
We all have goals and places to go.
We are all on a journey, one that only we can take.
We may bring others along but the choices are ours.
Do we ever really arrive? Or is each destination just a stop on our journey of life?
~
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Thomas Terry
The quiet wrestling of the pages.
The soft whispers of the storyteller.
Pages turn and words fill the air.
With the warm love of the teacher.
Thomas Terry
The peaceful twinkle of the of the stars.
Ashes floating to the sky.
The quiet whisper of the wind.
As we sit around the roaring fire.
Thomas Terry
The sparks we feel the first time we meet. Life is full of firsts and the feelings are overwhelming and ecstatic. We're lost in the feelings, we fall heel overhead for our lover. We can't escape it but they don't seem to last forever. We say, "I love, you". We say, "I'll never leave you". We put everything on the line for the love we feel and then one day it just fades. We wake up and say, "We fell out of love". We say "It's just not going to work."
Thomas Terry
Humanity is something we sometimes lose sight of. We forget who we are and what we were created to be. We forget our ideas have meaning and impact in this world we call home.
What is it to be human? What is humanity? Is it important that we find our humanity and live it out? What does that look like?
Patrick Freels
He knows is a spoken word piece I helped produce and did the vocal edit for. It was written and recorded by Patrick Freels. This is the begininng of a new chapter of music he wants to create. The simplicity of just having his spoken word released is a part of how he wants to tell his story.
Thomas Terry
The churning waters of the raging sea.
Our lives are in chaos searching for foundations.
A place to rest our feet; a place to be free.
Free from all our temptations and our shortcomings.
Thomas Terry
Another day another task.
We all have a job or a task or something to complete.
We are all on a mission.
Whether it's ours or a company's vision.
Thomas Terry
Imagine not worrying if people would listen to your music. Imagine knowing they will listen as long as you provide. This is not something that happens overnight. It took years of building trust and loyalty with their fans. Years of building a product that is interesting and speaks to people. It's more than just selling a product to their fans it's adding value to their lives.
Thomas Terry
You have no rival.
Nothing stands against.
My mind is consumed by you.
My thoughts can't escape your face.
Thomas Terry
Dear Future or Dear Future me.
I don't have the words to say
Or the things to plea.
I know I need change but I don't wanna change.
Thomas Terry
Today, Yesterday, Tomorrow
Time is a strange thing
It's literal but make believe
We struggle not to feel the sorrow
We are enslaves to the hands on the clock
But what do they even mean?
Thomas Terry
The first step to overcoming an addiction is admitting it is there. You can't overcome an obstacle that you refuse to believe exists. I'll admit to you my addiction has become caffeine. I struggled with needing a cup of joe every morning before I would become alive.
Thomas Terry
We are all a slave to something.
We can't stand that word but it's life.
We give our allegiance to something or someone.
What we choose to give our life to is our choice.
Thomas Terry
We all have different life experiences. Some of us were born and raised in the same town and have no desire to leave. Then others of us can't seem to stay in one place for more than a year or two. They are always looking for the next adventure or the next thrill.
Thomas Terry
We all want what we want now.
Nobody wants to wait.
We all hate long lines and long waits.
We want it so fast we're okay eating without a plate.
Thomas Terry
We live in a very strange time. Technology is constantly changing at a quick pace and is evolving quicker than we know how to handle it. People are beginning to wonder when they will lose their jobs to AI. People are even beginning to wonder how long until AI takes over and comes after us. I for one don't think we are going to be entering into the Terminator anytime soon but I can see the dangers of AI if not used carefully.
Thomas Terry
Living in the land of the unpredictable.
Never knowing what the day may bring.
Thomas Terry
Thank you to everyone who read each chapter of my first short story. This is a piece that is made up but contains things that are very real to some people. We live in a broken world where pain and suffering are very real. People struggle with many different things whether that be social anxiety, drugs and alcohol, sexual sins, or abuse. You name it and someone has struggled with it. It breaks my heart to know what people have had to go through. I wrote this story to try to shed light on what people have had to go through in life. I want to show that there can be light on the other side of the darkness. Even if it’s hard to see it is there. Some people are looking up to you and need you even if you are unaware of it. Just because you feel lost or like you don’t matter that is far from the truth. You are a beautiful rose, don't ever forget that.
Thomas Terry
We wake up to another challenge.
We push through and try to make it.
We don't stop and never give up.
This life we live is all we need.
Never stop believing in who you can be.
Thomas Terry
Cam was confused. He was in his room alone crying tears like he had never cried before. How long had he been there? Time seemed to stand still and nothing was making sense to him. He was alone, his best friend and his sister was gone. It hadn’t fully dawned on him how he would never see her again. She was just gone. She had taken her own life before he could have done anything to save her. He felt completely helpless at this moment.
Thomas Terry
We did it! We hit 100 stories here on Vocal! It's been a journey that has come with its ups and downs.
Thomas Terry
We all have something that makes us smile.
A secret desire that makes our day.
A pleasure that no one else could know.
A guilty pleasure that satisfies.
Thomas Terry
The long winding path where there's no end in sight.
No destination we're trying to achieve.
Just the peaceful songs of the animals in the trees.
Thomas Terry
It was another normal day at EastSide High. It was getting close to the end of his freshman year and Cam couldn't wait for summer to start. Cam was excited to hang out with his friends on the basketball court after school. The sun shone brightly in the sky, making it the perfect day to shoot hoops with the boys. He was a very competitive person and always would play to win. There was no let's play a quick game for fun with Cam. He was not very good at losing and would break ankles to be sure he would come out on top. He had a solid group of friends who would play a few basketball games on the courts every day after school and everyone who played had the same competitive mentality as Cam.
Thomas Terry
You say you love another.
You say you want to love.
Yet when someone is different.
You choose to turn your back.
Thomas Terry
I was created for beauty.
I've been protected by thorns.
I'm the gift of a lover.
I'm the beauty of life.
Thomas Terry
Ellie's head was pounding. Her body hurt from head to toe and her mind was throbbing terribly. Every part of her body ached and she felt like she had just gotten out of the boxing ring with some world champ UFC fighter and she had lost miserably. She was miserable and the world was still spinning in circles in her mind. Thinking back, she was determined to remember what had happened the night before but everything seemed so out of focus for her.
Thomas Terry
We've waited patiently for what is now before us.
Now we hope for what is to come.
Never content with what is here.
Always wishing for what is next.
Thomas Terry
It's Spring but we can still talk about fall.
The words to this song inspire me more than your thoughts.
You're my autumn breeze.
Thomas Terry
The excitement of the night got the girls rushing to get ready! As they were getting ready they were excitedly telling each other all the things they hoped would come from tonight! Ellie knew if only she could keep up with everyone then she would finally fit in and have all the friends she had been hoping for.
Thomas Terry
Have you ever just wondered what the next thing to say would be
Thomas Terry
Being in the path of such great power
Looking up into the vast sky
Knowing without that firey ball in the sky we would be doomed
Thomas Terry
It had been a few weeks of being back in the school routine. Ellie’s excitement for the new year was slowly diminishing as the piles of homework and writing assignments that needed to be completed began to pile up on her desk. Through all of the business of life, she had begun to hang out with her friends less and less. She had such high hopes for the year but those quickly began to fade. Every day seemed to be the same, she would wake up go to school, then come home just to have homework pile up that needed to be completed. She would sulk in her room at night, alone in silence. Her thoughts were all that seemed to keep her company these days. She would get the occasional text from a friend with the typical, “Hey! How are you” or “How was your day?” Yet none of these conversations went any deeper, none of them scratched the surface which made her wonder if anyone cared. She didn’t care anymore about the random “hi, (smiley emoji)” texts. What she needed was a phone call and a real conversation that went past just small talk. She wanted someone to know her for who she is and care about every part of her emotions and thoughts.
Thomas Terry
Your voice is like a melody.
Floating through the breeze.
The gentle chirp of the birds in the cool morning air.
Thomas Terry
The madness is over
March has finally come to an end
We struggle to fit in and can't understand the trend
The hype and the fans
Lifepoint Students
A song written and recorded by the Lifepoint Collective student team. I helped with the engineering and recording of the live takes of the song.
Thomas Terry
Once upon a time, how every perfect story has begun for centuries. This takes you back to the story's beginning, letting you get a glimpse into the past, to show you why things end up as they do. The story travels through many ups and downs but ends with the happy ever after everyone has come to expect. There is no surprise, each story always follows the same pattern, of ups and downs until finally arriving at the happily ever after. This story, however, isn’t once upon a time it is happening now, it could happen tomorrow or maybe it did already happen. It’s a part of your life and becomes a part of your story. There is no happy ever after, no perfect prince or princess, and no lovers holding hands riding off into the beautiful sunset, there never is. It’s just a fantasy created to tell a good story to keep the listener’s attention. This is real life, your life, a life where dreams don’t come true and darkness rises and takes even the best of us. Unfortunately, this story is more real than you are willing to admit.
thomas co.
Autumn is a love song by thomas co. This song talk about the beauty change can bring into a relationship and how change does not need to be a bad thing. It was released the same day he proposed to the love of his life. It marks the beginning of a new chapter of life.
Zack Bope
'Beautiful Confusion' is a compelling worship song penned collaboratively by Zack Bope, Connor Scalzo, and Thomas Terry. This inspirational piece delves into the profound beauty found in God's intricate plan, even during moments of perplexity and uncertainty in our lives. It serves as a reminder that, despite our current lack of understanding, there is a divine purpose in every step of the journey we are on in life. I hope you are able to take time and listen to this song and just worship who Jesus is. This was a collaborative effort in writing and I helped to mix and master the track.
Lifepoint Collective
This was a song I worked on as a record engineer assistant. I helped setup the entire set for the worship team to record the unplugged version of the song. This is a song written by the church I'm on staff at.
I run sound for Lifepoint Church at the largest campuses in Lewis Center, Ohio. I have been on staff with Lifepoint since 2021 with my main responsibility being FOH op.