Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Humans.
What's the Deal with Open Marriage?
Last weekend, while surfing through Netflix I came across a documentary calledExplained, a new weekly docuseries launched by Vox to explain, hence the name, many things that leave us scratching our heads. The episode I watched was about monogamy and non-monogamous relationships. Right away, my interest was piqued. I was immediately struck by one expert commenter who said, “Monogamy is of a made-up construct, a way to enforce gender roles and social order.” Watching the documentary, I thought to myself, if that is true, then the same assertion could be made about non-monogamous relationships. Likewise, it could also be said that non-monogamous is of a made up construct design to disrupt (rather than enforce) gender roles and social order. Before I even had the chance to fully digest this thought, I was struck by another expert commenter who said, “Monogamy is not natural, it's a choice.” What?! My mouth literally hit the floor.
By She Writes8 years ago in Humans
Life After Love: Part 3
SERENA Birds, roosters, and the entire animal kingdom managed to wake me up. It wasn't the usual sound of my alarm clock, but since I crashed at Daniel's farmhouse last night after the party, I had no choice but to deal with it. Rubbing my eyes awake, I moaned as I sat up and looked for my favorite pair of slippers. Again, nowhere to be found considering this wasn't my house and all of my belongings were in the trunk of my car and in storage. I needed to find a place to live as soon as possible. There was no way I was going to get any sleep with all these farm animals around.
By Sharlene Alba8 years ago in Humans
Boy and Girl Get Together
It started off like any other old story: Boy meets girl; girl meets boy when they are young teenagers through mutual friends. Over the course of five years, the boy and girl don't date, but are great friends. Once the boy and girl are both 21, the boy comes to where the girl goes to school, and they go out to nightclubs and drink together. It takes a few times before something happens, but when it does, it is incredible.
By Caroline Nell8 years ago in Humans
Insecurities of a Half Blood
Insecurity. A word that describes a feeling that we as humans feel at one point in our lives. My insecurity most of my life was my heritage. I am half Tongan and half Filipino. Many don’t know where Tonga is, and my whole life I've told people that it's just like Hawaiian and settled for that. Growing up in Georgia and Wisconsin where there was no one like me it was so depressing to me. The kids I went to school with didn't know where Tonga was, or they thought that Hawaii was a country. They also didn’t know what or where the Philippines were. I had to explain that we were like the Japanese, another Asian island.
By Kaily Hafoka8 years ago in Humans
A Favorite Sweater
I found my favorite and most treasured sweater in a flea market in Florence. It began as the typical hunt for the "perfect" article of clothing—the fit, the look, material: everything. It was hanging up in one of the nicer stands, alone and high enough for me to see it from afar. Rushing over there, I asked the man to get it down for me. In the attempts to look casual and indifferent I asked the price. 30 euro. Scoffing with an eye-roll, I made a feeble effort to barter it down; all the while in my head I knew full well I would pay whatever price for this long-sought sweater. I'm going to make the safe assumption that the vendor saw straight through my pretend indifference. Needless to say, I paid the 30 euros and have never once regretted it.
By Raven Bianco8 years ago in Humans
Why Me?
So many questions in this broken world. Why is the sky blue and the grass green? Why is there so much evil and hate? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why can’t I stop thinking about you? My mind races through the endless possibilities. I'm in my car, relaying our conversation over and over, analyzing and dissecting every word, every syllable trying to memorize your face—your smile, your eyes. It’s kind of hard to forget. Did I say too much? I questioned whether it was real or I imagined our whole interaction. It felt so normal, like I’ve known you longer than a couple hours. I put my head in my hands and run my shaking fingers through my hair before pulling it back into a ponytail. I take a deep breathe as I see you drive away. You don't see me watching you, my stomach in knots. All I picture is us sitting together, unleashing more of ourselves than either of us ever imagined. Why is someone like you here with someone like me?
By Carley Willmott8 years ago in Humans
Words I Couldn't Say
I was never the one to express my emotions very well, and that’s possibly why we never ended up together in the past. The fact of the matter is that we were never just friends. There was always something more between us. I felt it and so did you. The problem was that I was too afraid to admit it in fear of ruining what I believed to be one of the best friendships I’ve had. Now I find myself staying up at night with my mind fixated on the “what ifs” and “should haves”. I should have been honest with myself and my feelings. I should have told you how I felt the very moment that you asked me. What if that was the only chance we had? A couple of years have past, and the words I’ve been wanting to say to you are still left unsaid.
By Maryanne Jackson8 years ago in Humans
Big Heart Big Problems
"Sometimes it’s not the people who change, it’s the mask that falls off." -Unknown Who would've thought having a big heart would cause so much pain? We were taught to be polite, to love our enemies, and treat people the way we would want to be treated; and good things will come upon you. But why didn't anyone cover the possibilities of being taken advantage of? Having a huge heart, like mine, can put you in a place that most people couldn't even imagine, a place so dark that you can't see the monster it's turning you into.
By Corinthia Baniel8 years ago in Humans
It Will Be Effortless and Beautiful
Once upon a time, more like five months to be exact, I fell for an undercover fuck boy. What’s an undercover fuck boy, you may ask? Well, according to Urban Dictionary, it’s a guy who is a piece of shit but puts on an act of being a decent person to get into your pants. It’s a pretty accurate definition, and I honestly couldn’t have said it any better myself. So mad props to Urban Dictionary.
By Maryanne Jackson8 years ago in Humans
How to Be Romantic With an Introvert
I am an extremely introverted and just flat out awkward person. And my poor husband learned early on that I am not a romantic person… at least not outwardly so. I am adamant that I do not like to be touched (but I do, just only in certain ways and at certain times and by very certain people), I claim that I don’t like cliché romantic gestures, and I’ve just always been difficult at receiving love.
By Jessica Rowe8 years ago in Humans
