humanity
For better or for worse, relationships reveal the core of the human condition.
Flickering of Youth
Man is made of more than a moment in time, and even the simplest and meekest among us are mere mosaics of the multitude of moments. In the same way that a rope is not composed of a single strand but a series of entwined cords, the soul is composed of all the series and solo events that impact us in ways both small and mighty as the twist and entangle themselves within us, forming the person that we ultimately become.
Lena FolkertPublished 3 years ago in HumansDo You Know Your Own Toxic Trait?
Is it just me, or does everyone dislike that interview question about your strengths and weaknesses? For many, myself included, it is a hard question to answer, especially when my main strength is also my main weakness. More on that later.
Diana LottiPublished 3 years ago in HumansEnough
When you spend your life observing the world you find yourself constantly looking for patterns to reference to your life questions. You search for answers in everything. Unfortunately, It all eventually becomes clutter taking up any free mental capacity you have left. All that clutter can make it easy to lose track of yourself in other people's issues. The only way to clean that clutter is to relive the past on repeat until you can somehow find a way to separate and untangle the parts of you affected by those same outside influences. Once it gets even a tiny bit organized you become able to then use those outside influences to grow and heal. It's a skill you can't master right away. But if you remain open to trying and create a habit of occasionally cleaning up now and then even the worst events can become a moment to heal. A person can hurt emotionally through heartbreak and still heal as if it were a physical injury. Both are wounds, some just take longer than others to heal. Even when you do think you have healed time passes and you look back to realize you still had growing to do.
Veronica BoykinPublished 3 years ago in HumansNobody Told Me
*names and details changed to protect privacy* His wrists were tied down in restraints to protect him. He wore absolutely nothing but an adult diaper. He was so thin he weighed as much as an average 11-year-old. You could see all his ribs and even the xyphoid process, that little pointy tip to the sternum.
Hannah RosePublished 3 years ago in HumansDishonor
“Kim and I are seeing each other and were in love. I’m sorry you had to find out this way.” Jake said. “You’re a liar Kim would never do that to me, why would you want to hurt me like this.” I screeched. “There was a long pause. “I’m sorry I wanted to tell you before but she didn’t want to hurt you, call her and ask; she’ll tell you.” he said “That’s my best friend. She would never do that, why do you hate me so much that you’d lie on her.” I hung up the phone enraged. My thoughts raced 1000 miles per hour. Why would he do this to me we were no longer together but why befriend me and act as if he cared about a friendship, all to take another stab at me as if the break up hadn’t hurt me before. It had been more than a year and yet the sting or rejection still slightly lingered. I wanted the friendship I guess, but truth be told Kim had been spending the last year pushing us both in each other lives feeding me the idea he still wanted to be with me. Now here I’m sitting with my head spinning in confusion. All from a few text and a call between my only two friends in the middle of my work day. I was sick to my stomach on why he wanted to destroy me or my friendship for that matter. What if anything had I done to this guy?
Laquell GashiPublished 3 years ago in HumansMy Favourite Stories from Tom Bradbury
I was shocked to hear that fellow Vocal writer, Tom Bradbury passed away in a fire at his home in France. Everybody in the Vocal community groups on Facebook had interacted with him or at least heard of him. He had been an active member in the Vocal community and he won second place twice in two vocal challenges, which is an amazing achievement. I was happy to see him place because it gave me faith in the Vocal challenges. I started to suspect that they were won by fake profiles, but seeing a writer I knew place in the challenge made me believe in them again.
Chloe GilholyPublished 3 years ago in Humans- Top Story - September 2021
Death of a Stranger -- Tom Bradbury
Like a rug yanked quickly out from under my feet, the emotions I feel leave me unsettled, out of kilter, bewildered. How can the sudden death of someone I don’t even know; a man who lives halfway around the world from my home, have such a profound effect? Why is my heart so grieved at the loss of Tom Bradbury?
Maria CalderoniPublished 3 years ago in Humans 2020 Was a Year
It's one thing we can all agree on as a society, nationally and internationally, that 2020 sucked. It was a year when so many changes had to be made to the daily routine - if there was one left - changes that had to be made to adapt, to survive. There were certainly changes I had to make and adjust to in order to go about my day without the impending cloud of anxiety completely taking over my mental state and day overall. However, as young as I am in comparison, nothing I have ever learned in life could have prepared me for what I've been through thus far. And hopefully, my experiences and story can resonate with others out there and reassure that we're all not alone in this change, in this adaptation, in this survival of life.
Nicole FennPublished 3 years ago in Humans2020 Changed Everything
The year of 2020 was a gamechanger for many reasons for many people. Life hasn’t been the same since. It felt like a wake-up call, and I’m sure I’m not the only one that heard 2020’s call. 2020: perfect vision. Much came to light, and it could no longer remain hidden.
Jessica C.Published 3 years ago in HumansRamble On
Life can be hard, everyone that has lived long enough can attest to that. Every single person on this Earth has endured something that has changed them for better or for worse and molded them into the person they are today. This thing that changes people can be something wonderful. A dream job opportunity, money, a family, what have you. The flip side could also be something horrible. A lost loved one or in my case that of my personal health failing me. I’ve always had struggles with my health due to a variety of autoimmune diseases that I have had ranging from psoriasis, a condition in which skin cells build up and form itchy dry patches, to Crohn’s disease. Crohn’s took a big hit from my time in high school as I lost a lot of weight and felt like a shell of myself. It largely affected my confidence, even a bit still to this day. The real hit came later, after I learned to live with Crohn’s disease and psoriasis. The two would be well maintained even allowing me to live a semblance of a normal life for a time, however, it didn’t last. In the winter of 2013, everything changed.
Nick CavuotiPublished 3 years ago in HumansAwkward is Alright
A little story about being a late bloomer Today I’m a pretty difficult person to figure out. Hell, I’m working on understanding my “brand” daily. Over the past 10 years, my jobs have scattered as dust in a desert, as have my passions. Few have any correlation, but it’s all been a journey away from being defined by my peers and grabbing those reigns myself. From the time I was born, it was clear I was different. I loved wandering the woods, picking up critters, and received the nickname “bug” after refusing to refrain from picking up spiders in a Mississippi Swamp. I wowed teachers with my voice at age 7, a time when I had perfect pitch, and I walked with my head held high. My teeth were so wacky, I was the first of my class to get braces in 2nd grade, and even that drew my shoulders back a bit. You could say I felt like a king of elementary school. I was cool. I’d go on to become quite the athlete, friend to all, and wearing a Livestrong bracelet and Phiten necklace (ensured perfect balance), tube socks, and smedium shirts, I’d start dating a 6th grader in 4th. Standing 6 inches shorter and just a few weight classes under, my charisma could not be shaken. Her friends and sister would pass me notes in the hallway, and we’d rarely talk in person. The parents couldn’t know, so we’d secretly talk on the home phone, and I’d sneak over to the neighbor’s house to, awkwardly, pick up love packages for holidays (Santa claus build-a-bears and one lb Hershey bars). Thirteen years later, common law must apply, cause we never broke things off. Exiting Elementary school, you could say things seemed to be on the rise. Middle school was supposed to be grand, sports were only ramping up, and this summer was poised for grandeur. My, was I in for a rude awakening. Braces would become uncool, growth spirts would be delayed, the singing voice would be marred by upper-classmen bullies, and I could not have been less prepared. The future Eagle scout motto I’d embody, be prepared, was not in the mental wheelhouse, and the vehicle driving my life began to break down. I’d been passed up on the sports field, my friends were hanging with girls while I was searching for critters in the creek, I gave up singing and started speaking in a deeper, forced, voice, and I used sharpie to try and create armpit hair (until I got called out for it). I rocked one hell of a bowl cut, and did erroneous things to gain attention: nearly got kicked out of summer camp for bringing cigars I'd found walking around my neighborhood and cut my own hair in the locker room to avoid in school suspension. I was the laughing stock of the whole school, and I’d join them in banter. My insecurity blanket was up, but I was hiding behind it. The world couldn't know I was hurting. I’d get my youth pastor to pick me up on CrossFit days to avoid the potential bullying if had to take a shower with my 15-year-old, still prepubescent body. It’s tough when your balls don’t drop till your 17. I’d given up on pursuing music or becoming a professional athlete. I found little joy from anything. I’d let other people define what made me “cool.” Instead of walking with the head high, picking up chicks with braces, singing at the top of my lungs because it made me feel good, walking up to swing a baseball bat knowing I’d hit the ball (dad always told me to keep a loose booty), and picking up critters to continue with Steve Irwin aspirations, I’d fallen victim to the cultural norm storm. The fact that I was different had not changed, but now I was just entertaining for it, rather than accepting raw form Daniel. I ended my sophomore year of high school alone and totally unsure of who I was. Just as summer approached, I was just getting curious with fitness for the first time. Sitting at a buck twelve, bench pressing all of 70 pounds, I got under a squat rack for the first time. Lineman from the football team were set up on a rack with 3 plates on each side, making the total weight 315 lbs. For some reason, I saw it a good idea to give it a shot. Five spotters, scared I’d collapse under the load, surrounded me as I stepped under the bar. I politely asked them to provide no assistance, and proceeded to inhale deeply as the hips sank down. To everyone’s amazement, no assistance was needed as I exhaled up from parallel. Endorphins pulsed through me, my mind was stupefied for the first time in years.. From where did this strength come from, I asked myself. Apparently, my scrawny little body did have some fight after all, and I left from the gym different that day. I now know that true strength in life come from the mind, not the body, but this moment provided a powerful Segway into that mentality I embody today. The next week I would be told I couldn’t come over to some “friends” house because my presence would be embarrassing, and I would call my best friend to have his butt answer on a Bluetooth call. I listened to my name belittled to the point of hilarity. To be frank, I was heartbroken, but I could not be more thankful for this page of my story. I elected to upend my life in search for true friends, who embrace me for who I am at the core. After a transfer of schools, lonely experience in college, and a big move out west, I’m thriving again. I’ve gone on to love soo much more fully, and life smiles back at me in return. I got back into singing, started dancing hard whenever music turns on. Journals are now being filled about life reflections, and I’m totally okay with not fitting in. Life’s thrown me more curveballs at 25 that I ever bargained for, but that’s why I learned the game of baseball, not to be a professional. I’ve picked people up in the darkest of times and watched happiness switches turn on. I’ve fly fish guided, hated it, ski instructed, loved it, guided on the Appalacian trail, became a story teller, used that to become a poet, write children’s books, and become a yoga instructor to expand my mind to continue meeting life’s storms. My health’s taken a shit, but I’ll figure it out. It’s still hard for me to trust friend’s these days, but I’ll still try my dardest to make people feel love every day. There are soo many more steps to be taken, and I know the miles will be tough. Sometimes the bad weather must come to remind us of the good times past and to come. No weight you hold over your mind can ever be too great if you remain true to yourself, just as the greatest storm can produce the most beautiful rainbow. It's silly to me how this all started with iron weight on my back, baby pit hairs finally finding their way to my armpits and other undesirable places. It just goes to show the silliness of what we yearn for in life and the true beauty of the awkwardness when we embrace it. Storms are good. Bring em on. I only ask for a rainbow at the close. I feel the leprechaun stands at the end to show us that we are gold. That's more precious than some metal you can hold. I’m a misfit, you might be too; smile about it; be original .
Daniel TrussellPublished 3 years ago in HumansWhy I stopped reading non-fiction
Being a business student and avid reader I’ve always been big into non-fiction and self-help books. Over the last few years I went through a massive phase of devouring the stuff and delving deep into all there was available to me. Name a productivity guru on Youtube and I’ve watched them. I’d fully engrossed myself in all the ‘tips and tricks’ known to man yet found myself slowly falling out of love with reading and even learning.
Noah DouglasPublished 3 years ago in Humans