humanity
For better or for worse, relationships reveal the core of the human condition.
Me, to Be or Not to Be?
I've been the same person my entire life. I know, it sounds ridiculous. Right now you're thinking, "Well, isn't everybody"? To answer your question, no. People around me have gone through more personality changes than they have clothes. (Okay, that might be a stretch but you get it.) I've never been that way, not until recently. My memories started at the age of 7, when I woke up in a tiny 1 bedroom apartment knowing exactly who I was. I remember that day and moment as if it just happened. What did I feel exactly? To put it simply, it was a sense of belonging. Now I'm 23 and I can't say I know who this person I embody really is. Everyone loves to typecast me though, because what better way to utilize their time than to try and analyze me? I've been referred to as the simple girl, the mature one, the strong personality alpha female, the conservative one, and my favorite, the weirdo. I never cared for these titles because I knew the truth. I wasn't ever just one of those things, I was all of them. But now, in what seems like such a broken world where my sense of belonging has withered away with the dreams and aspirations of those who struggle to get by, the girl who looks back at me from the mirror is unfamiliar. Studying my exterior and concealing my interior, the only reflections I see are those of a lost soul. I'm struggling but no one sees it, and I'm afraid no one cares for it.
By Persia Lee8 years ago in Humans
Why Bullying Isn't OK
Bullying happens more than we'd like to admit. It happens in our personal life, social life, work life, and it also happens in our school lives. However, not everyone will get bullied, or will get bullied to the extent that they will associate themselves with getting bullied.
By Tanisha Dagger8 years ago in Humans
Obsession
He stares at her, watching. His eyes follow each movement, absorbing her desires, breathing in her sweet innocence. He wants it; he needs it; he needs her. He was naïve before, much too lax. He had allowed the sweetest perfection to slip through his fingers. She was able to slide past the walls that he was building around them. She disappeared from the beautiful sanctuary that he was creating for the two of them. But, neither the fear nor the guilt that he had orchestrated was enough to make her stay. His flawless obsession had escaped.
By Nicole Leary8 years ago in Humans
Being Different
One of the various phenomenons present in society these days is that which pertains to conformity and abnormality. More elaborately, how we constantly desire to differentiate ourselves from the common idiot. It’s a desperate kind of attempt. It’s as if we were all in a hole that we call “People” and most of us are reaching up to the sky, scratching at the walls, using each other’s bodies to climb up in an attempt to escape conformity and the overly mediocre concept of “normal.” Those who are not attempting this torturous and potentially pointless ascent are incessantly hiding. Desiring to become one with the crowd of those we call “people” due to a bad experience with being different, they need to camouflage themselves and their abnormalities to remain in the comfortable societal accepted conformity. As you can see, I’ve been using the words “people” and “abnormalities” which need to be defined if I want to further my examination of this phenomenon. By “people,” I mean the people you do not know who you consider conformed and happy and ignorant. Normal. Those whom you desire to differentiate yourself from. By “abnormal,” I mean how you are different and how you make yourself distinguishable.
By Marie-Céleste McNiven8 years ago in Humans
The First Few Chapters
Before we begin, I’d like to say that names have been changed for the sake of their privacy. As a little girl, I was thriving. You would often see me running around the elementary school campus, squealing with delight, as my friends and I played tag, talked about the boys of our school, and the most recent High School Musical. Back then I let myself live. Didn’t we all? We were so unaware of what was coming. We were pure and certain of our futures.
By Alyssa Gammell8 years ago in Humans
Love Triangles and Betrayal: The Tricky Triad
Love triangles. . . We don't understand the concept of a tricky triad, nor do we really comprehend the dynamics of being caught up in one, until we find ourselves stuck as a geometrical coordinate. Graphed as a third part of a whole, whether we initiate the third angle or were unknowingly reeled into it, stuck we are. Haphazardly, is often the case. Even for the dirty deed doer, the cheater, who branched out from the dyad.
By Amanda Karenina8 years ago in Humans
Hitman With a Heart
When I was 17, I was involved in some pretty dicey things and thought I was invincible, even though I was scared of my own shadow. I was out drinking and smoking marijuana with friends one night and felt ready to go home but my partner wanted to stay. As we lived in a caravan around the corner and it was a small country town, I decided to go it alone. It was probably only a 200m walk but it felt long and I was trying to concentrate on staying upright. There were plenty of street lights overhead and at some point I noticed I was being followed. I saw a large, bulky man not far behind me and, in my fear, I imagined myself being in danger. I knew who the man was, because he had been at the house I’d just left. Although I loved my friends, I did not trust them. I was unable to trust anyone much at that time and my friends were involved in activities I did not approve of and did not want to be involved in. This man was someone that my friends did not trust either, which made him seem dangerous to me. One of my older relatives had known him many years before, but I had not had anything to do with him and did not want to now, either. This man had a big reputation for drugs and nastiness and his behaviour certainly came across as hard. I had seen him at my friend's house a few times lately and while I kept a watchful eye on him, I’d also noticed that something about him was like my grandfather, too. He appeared really tough and as if he meant business but there was a twinkle in his eye, also—a softness that was not always easily apparent. I’d known this man’s family a little in childhood and I found them all a bit too much for me, yet I didn’t know them at all really. Everything I knew about any of these people was formed from judgments I’d made on hearsay and gossip. I was about to learn a very valuable lesson that I have never forgotten and that I thank them for often.
By Gabriella Grace8 years ago in Humans
Lingering Effects for Houston's Flooded — Trauma, Grief, and Loss. Top Story - October 2017.
As you have no doubt heard, thanks to 24-hour-a-day news coverage at the time, the city of Houston suffered the most catastrophic rainfall recorded in United States' history this past August—the result of Hurricane Harvey. The Hurricane did not "directly hit" our city, but spread its outer bands of rain directly over us.
By Arlene Nisson Lassin8 years ago in Humans
The Wooden Party Cat
I am a cat person at heart. I love dogs and animals in general but I always found myself drawn to cats. I have two of them and they are the only men in my life I can fully rely on. I love them so much and they're always able to make me feel more stable and loved. There is one other cat that can be found in room, although this one is not living. Perched on the thin ledge under my window you can find a small carving of a sleeping cat. This wooden cat was given to me in the strangest way, one I will never forget.
By Pearl McCarthy8 years ago in Humans
