quotes
Best corporate culture and inspirational quotes from workplace executives, office workers, and everyone in between.
Treading Water
"Lies don't die they grow, and everything you try to hide eventually shows." - MGK "Treading Water." I first began Vocal in 2021, April to be exact. I had just turned 34 that Feburary and I was struggling with sobrity, anxiety and depression. The post is titled "55 days Sober." (its linked if you would like to read it. Its so weird to think that was written almost half a decade ago, so much has changed but so much hasn't. It's almost been two weeks since I turned 39 and I have so many mixed emotions. Thinking back to being 29, about to turn 30 thinking man I'm "old" but also not know the journey that would lay ahead.
By Kimmiekins48 months ago in Journal
The Smile People See, and the One They Don’t
People often say the same thing to me. “You always have a smile.” Or sometimes: “You are such a calm person.” I never really know what to answer. So I smile. Maybe out of habit. Maybe out of modesty. It is true that most of the time I keep a peaceful face. I speak calmly. I take time to listen. People feel that quiet energy and they make a simple conclusion: everything must be fine. Life must be easy for someone who smiles so much. But the truth is a little more complex. A smile is not always proof that everything is easy. Sometimes it is simply a way to stay balanced inside. A way to keep standing when the inside is more complicated than it looks. There are days when I smile sincerely, deeply, because life is beautiful in small details. An unexpected conversation. A ray of sunlight. A quiet moment that brings peace. Those moments exist, and they matter a lot. But there are also moments when the smile is quieter inside. People see the surface. And that is normal. We live in a world where everything moves fast. Eyes meet, conversations stay short, and deep emotions do not always have space to be expressed. And to be honest, people are not always truly interested in the other person anymore. Not everyone, of course. Thankfully there are still people with attentive eyes and curious hearts, people who ask “How are you?” and truly wait for the answer. But many people live almost automatically. The world shows us so much chaos, so many bad things and constant instability, that our brains slowly get used to it. It is like we become conditioned to instability. Turbulence starts to feel normal. In this kind of environment, people learn to wear simple faces: the one who is okay, the one who keeps going, the one who smiles. It is not always a lie. Sometimes it is simply a way to protect a more fragile part of ourselves. Because everyone carries something. Some people show it openly. Others keep it quiet. And sometimes the calmest people are simply those who learned to navigate their inner storms without making too much noise. I am not saying this to create sadness. Actually, it is the opposite. There is a kind of philosophy in all of this. Smiling, even when everything is not perfect, is not hypocrisy. Sometimes it is a choice. The choice not to let the chaos of the world completely define what we give to others. When I smile, it is not because I feel nothing. Very often, it is because I feel a lot. I see the tiredness in some people’s eyes. I feel the invisible weight that some people carry on their shoulders. And sometimes offering a little calm, a little kindness, a little presence… is already a lot. A smile can be a silent language. A way to say: “I understand more than you think.” But I also wish people would remember something simple. Behind every calm person, behind every person who seems to always be okay, there is an inner world that nobody fully sees. And sometimes that world deserves a little attention. Not complicated questions. Not deep analysis. Just a moment of authenticity. Real listening. A look that goes a little deeper than the surface. Because in the end, what the world is missing the most today is not information, and not opinions. It is presence. Real presence. The kind where we still take the time to care about another human being, without judgment, without rushing, without distraction. I will probably continue to smile. It is part of who I am. It is my way of being in the world. But maybe, sometimes, someone will take the time to see a little further than that smile. Not to look for sadness. Simply to recognize that behind the calm, there is a human heart. Just like everyone else.
By Baptiste Monnet8 months ago in Journal
The Empty Locker
I didn’t know his name at first. I only knew the silence. It was a Tuesday in October. The high school hallway buzzed with its usual chaos—backpacks slamming, laughter echoing, sneakers squeaking on linoleum. But one locker stayed shut. No one leaned against it. No one dropped off homework. Just a quiet space where a boy should have been.
By KAMRAN AHMAD8 months ago in Journal
The Suitcase in the Hallway
I didn’t pack lightly. The suitcase sat by the door for three days—half-full, then overflowing, then emptied again. I kept adding things I thought I’d need: my favorite coffee mug, the photo from last summer, the sweater that still smelled like home. Then I’d take them out, convinced they were too heavy, too sentimental, too much.
By KAMRAN AHMAD8 months ago in Journal
The Couple We All Watched Grow Up
I didn’t know them. But I felt like I did. For over a decade, they were part of my life—not as celebrities, but as characters in a story I watched unfold in real time. I saw them at seventeen, awkward and bright-eyed on red carpets, fumbling through interviews, hiding smiles behind their hands. I saw them navigate fame, heartbreak, and the slow, steady work of becoming adults—all while the world watched, judged, and claimed ownership of their journey.
By KAMRAN AHMAD8 months ago in Journal
