humanity

For better or for worse, relationships reveal the core of the human condition.

Distance Between Fingers
As It Appears to Me This jigsaw puzzle is huge, and there are so many pieces that I've lost count. But they are cut to precision, and they lock together so nicely. It's an image of the entire world. But when I look more closely, I mean really focus, I see...myself? Is that right? Yeah. It's me. I can see myself waving. I have a name and a face. I am Karen Lichtman, a 52 year old widow from Brooklyn, New York. I live with PTSD, and I am currently in discovery mode. I am my own advocate. I have to be.
By Karen Lichtman6 years ago in Humans
the new normal is a curse
I would like to start off this article by saying that it has been two months since quarantine and isolation and I have tried to do a lot of things since then. I haven't been quaffled by a lot of things or be ever bored with my netflix binges until the second term of May, which starts with the new normal. I spend my days being cooped up indoors, sleeping early, waking up late, and put myself through shit like netflix binging, listening to less music and putting myself to an endless cycle of boredom.
By Kenisha Widya6 years ago in Humans
Queen Quarantine
Once upon a time, Queen Sarah was gloriously resting rightfully before her royal party as she was accustomed to. Sarah was used to getting her nails done before any special event. Queen Sarah enjoyed the aromatherapy of the spa as she normally did, before the corona virus epidemic even begin. She reflected back on a moment of her laying in her bed. She was getting ready to head off to the celebration of her Majestic Birthday Party. The queens mother was there at the party; along with her friends and members of the charities of whom she associated with.
By Raphael6 years ago in Humans
We make our own closure
There are things I want to say that I can't. I think everyone has thoughts like that. People are so inconsistent that everyone has lost someone in one way or another and left things unsaid. I've never been good at leaving things that way.
By Kay Husnick6 years ago in Humans
MY SECOND CHANCE.
I was a student volunteer for a charity organization in South America. On my way to work one morning I saw a beggar sitting at the train station begging.
By Linnet Brown6 years ago in Humans
This is my Truth
You might not see it when you first look at me, but I am different. I have come to accept my singular experience and have learned to blend in, becoming something of a shapeshifter adapting my character to match those around me, to hide my 'alienness'. But blending in is not the same as fitting in. You might be able to hide that part that doesn’t fit for a while, paint over it, dismiss it, ignore it – covering your ears while singing loudly, even convince yourself that you are like everyone else, but it’s always there and it just takes one piece of music, one movie scene, one heartfelt speech by a Hollywood celebrity to strike a chord and bring it all flooding out into the open.
By Skye Bothma6 years ago in Humans
Ooh So THIS is what we doing tonight?!
So I’m thinking I’m gonna have a regular night with my friends, house mixer with a few mutuals to make it interesting...And it got interesting REAL QUICK. We’re smoking in the Green Room for a few and start heading downstairs where there’s more space. I invited my sorority sister Faith. She’s originally from Florida and went to a different college but we created a really dope bond since she decided to stay here and move in with her boyfriend, Justin. Faith pulls me to the side as we’re on our way downstairs and says, “Me and my boyfriend like to have a lot of fun”. My ditzy ass is like, “ That’s wassup.” I don’t know what the fuck she’s talking about. I go to walk away and she stops me like “No, I mean we wanna have fun with you. “ 😳 I’m like OH no, no no no no no no no. But I don’t wanna hurt her feelings or embarrass her so I let out a little chuckle and say, “Na, I’m good.” In my head I’m thinking this is the end of that awkward encounter but now she’s following me down the stairs and asking for consolation prizes 🤦🏽‍♀️ “Can it just be you and him and I watch? What about me and you and he watches?” Now I’m getting tight because...like bruh, what the fuck is wrong with you? So I turn around and get in her face and say just loud enough to be stern but not call attention to us “Dawg, no” . I start playing Spades and she sits next to me. That’s fine. I invited her and I’ve had plenty of people try to fuck me and then have a regular night after a good rejection. This was not one of those nights. This girl literally like a five year old keeps asking me the same questions so I start completely ignoring her. She gets on her knees on the floor next to me and continues to do whatever she can to get my attention. I say no words, no acknowledgement at all and now my friends are laughing. It’s creepy. I finish my game and call a cab. I say my goodbyes, all while completely acting like this crazy bitch is Casper and I can’t see her. But who walks in the damn door as I’m tryna walk out....Justin of course. I give him a head nod and head out because fuck outta here at this point. Y’all are fucking nuts. They follow me outside and she’s physically holding onto me not letting me get in the cab. Justin is out side now too and he’s like “Babe, she don’t wanna come! Leave it alone.” This crazy bitch is stilllllllll at it. Now I’m strong and I’m NOT pussy but this girl is a whole MMA fighter and I got shit to do. A broken leg is not the thing for me to deal with right now. So I find a way to get away from her without punching her in the face even though I wanted to so bad 😩 I run in the cab and she catches the door right before it closes. So she’s trying to pu me out the car yelling “Really that’s how you gonna act? That’s what a sorority sister is? Fuck you forever then” I looked at that cab driver who’s in complete shock and say, “PULL TF OFF!” Door open and all. My seatbelt was on though 🤷🏽‍♀️
By JTM6 years ago in Humans
The Golden Rule
We live our lives through a screen, not remembering what it means to have a real conversation, what's life. Why are we? We try to control others and what they do and what they mean, but we see, Resistance only makes the other stronger, opposing anything is pointless, we all see.
By Sustainable Scott6 years ago in Humans
the day the week-ended
Flashback to a prematurely midnight-blue sky, nine to fivers walked cautiously, cradling their toilet paper against their chests as if comforting a small child. Lockdown was imminent and the city chorused with both curiosity and disbelief. The glare of touchscreens, the instant message beeps and the constant cursor clicks on the BBC news reload button, screamed skepticism.
By Chelsea Branch6 years ago in Humans
Let us embrace abnormality!
Looking at my last photograph before quarantine put me into shock, because it unexpectedly crashed over me as a tidal wave of overwhelming emotion. Prior to scrolling to the exact photograph in my gallery my confidence was incredibly high. Normal is a word that will never mean the same exact thing to any two people. This is an angle I can work with! Unsure normal and I have ever had a long-term relationship. This caused me great excitement! Believing any photograph would be an easy explanation. The real challenge would be putting a twist into my writing style to show my personality. For me it is always my favorite part of writing, and it keeps my readers interested in staying engaged reading the story.
By Jessica Lynn6 years ago in Humans
06.02.20 13:09PM Berlin
February was a peculiar month, one that was very much divided. The first half was care-free and exciting. Fueled by ambition and a will to excel. For you see, I had moved to Berlin only two weeks prior. I was at the start of an adventure; one that would soar my career to heights I had never reached before. I was fresh out of university and had landed my first professional job as a singer on a cruise ship. I had 'made it'. It felt good. The job sat in my planner for 3 months and the time had finally arrived for me to start this adventure and move to Berlin for the 2-month rehearsal process.
By George Fairclough6 years ago in Humans
The Last "Normal" Photo
It was the second time we had gone to The Met together. It was the first day that the weather was nice. It felt like spring. I remember being so excited because it meant summer was just around the corner. I had just gotten back from Texas the week before and we missed each other dearly so we decided to spend the entire Sunday wandering around the city. We met at Starbucks because that is my usual ritual every time I go to The Met. Something about that walk seems surreal now. I can’t remember a single thing we talked about but I know that there was a moment when I looked at him and thought “I hope we do this a lot this summer”.
By Sarah LaFleur6 years ago in Humans